A COMPANY has raised £500,000 to pay for more than 300 volunteer counsellors.

Staff and customers at Towergate Insurance, in Thornaby, near Stockton, have been fundraising, with marathons, dress-down days, auctions and charity walks.

The money has helped ChildLine recruit and train 323 volunteer counsellors, taking their total number to nearly 1,500.

The counsellors will help ChildLine deal with an additional 65,000 children.

In the past year, the charity answered 473,000 calls.

However, a third of the children who call ChildLine are unable to get through to a counsellor because the demand for the service is so high.

Neil Forrest, of Towergate Insurance, said: “For many children who call, it is the first time they have tried to tell someone what they are experiencing.

“So with an additional 323 new counsellors on board, we are helping to answer every call and never leave a child feeling afraid or alone.”

ChildLine president Esther Rantzen said: “These are tough times for everyone, particularly the most vulnerable like children suffering from neglect.

“The money Towergate has donated has transformed the lives of thousands of children who had no one else to help and given up hope.”