IT is one of the hardest issues a parent has to deal with - discovering their child is gay.

A mixture of emotions envelops that person, leaving them confused and bewildered.

A North-East support group was established to help parents in this situation. Now, a cash boost will enable it to carry on its work.

Parents Enquiry North East offers a friendly ear, giving understanding and acceptance in a warm environment.

For many members it is a lifeline, a bastion of sensibility in a society that is less than sympathetic to gay, bi-sexual and transgendered people.

Ann-Marie from Consett, County Durham, was confronted with her son "coming out" when he was 16.

He poured his heart out after saying he had something important to tell her.

"At first I thought he might have got a young girl into trouble," she said.

"He made a lot of girl friends at college and they were coming to the house. I knew he was not a lads' lad, he was not into sport or rough things like that.

"He said, 'I like girls, they are my best friends and we get on well, but I don't think of them sexually'."

One Darlington parent, who asked to remain nameless, only discovered her 15-year-old son was gay when she caught him using the telephone late at night.

When she confronted him, he refused to say who he was calling and dialled another number to stop her tracing the call.

"I was worried in case he was into drugs or crime or something else," she said.

"We sat there for ages until he admitted he had been ringing a gay advice line in London.

"My heart was doing cartwheels. I just wanted to help him."

Parents Enquiry North East is there to help adults come to terms with their children's sexual orientation.

A £300 grant from North-East charity Greggs Trust will keep the service running.

For further information or advice, contact either Joan on (0191) 455 2868, Ann-Marie on (01207) 509020, or Susan on (01642) 465020.

Ends