Last year, Childline Northern Ireland counselled 12,271 children and young people. Over 8,360 of these were aged between 11 and 16 and 1,712 of those calls were made by victims of or people concerned about bullying.

The shocking figures highlight the vital role the charity plays in offering advice and support to Ulster children whose lives are being blighted by bullying.

The charity opened its new contact centre in Exchange House in a ceremony attended by Esther Rantzen in May where the majority of calls to the helpline are dealt with.

Mairead Monds, children service manager at Childline Northern Ireland, explained that when a child contacts the charity's helpline they speak to volunteers trained specially to deal with a huge range of crisis situations which face young people.

"One of the biggest reason young people ring us is because of bullying," she said.

"Our volunteers, who come from all walks of life, receive training and we have specialist people on to deal with bullying as well. We also have staff supervisors present so if any of our volunteers are struggling they can pass the call over."

Volunteers follow strict procedures when dealing with callers worried about bullying.

They can be made by the victim, or by a young person who is worried about a friend they believe is suffering from bullying.

Ms Monds explained: "There is a huge emotional impact from bullying which is why children are so reluctant to discuss it but we try and encourage them to talk about their feelings and help them to develop strategies on what they might do.

"Thankfully schools are a lot more open now and take bullying seriously. We make school referrals which is where, when a young person gives their permission, we contact the school and let them know what is happening.

"Of course, not all children give their permission because they are afraid. In that situation we will talk about the children's feelings. Very often we can get into the facts of how the bullying is making them feel.

"When they explain their feelings, they can go on and find a solution. Through discussion we can discover that they trust a member of staff in the school and encourage them to speak to them about what is happening to them."

Ms Monds said the charity will breach the confidence of a caller in circumstances such as when the young person is in immediate danger or they are being victimised by an adult.

"We are very clear on that - if a child tells us they are suicidal and it would not be totally unknown for us to have children who are suicidal - then we would actively intervene.

"On the very rare occasion a child is being humiliated by a teacher we will contact the school because that adult is in a position of responsibility."

Ms Monds said it is vital that staff in schools are trained in dealing with bullying and stresses the importance of early intervention. She said: " With bullying there is a total loss of self-esteem, a fear of going to school and a lack of confidence and these can manifest themselves into physical symptoms, such as bed wetting, sleeplessness or non-school attendance."

Children can call Childline on 0800 1111 to talk about any problem.