Thousands of fathers in south Essex may be suffering in silence, according to a survey conducted by a Hadleigh charity.

Parentline Plus, an advice service based in Endway, found that few fathers called its helpline despite 60 per cent of Britain's dads admitting to wanting help and support.

About one in every five calls made to the freephone helpline Parentline are from men.

Rosemary Spillman, Parentline manager, said: "Despite changing attitudes and the growing number of women working outside the home, parenting is still seen as a job done mostly by mothers.

"Tragically for many men and their children, it is often not until dads have gone through the trauma of a family break-up and they start to experience problems in a second family that they seek help.

"Many of the dads who call Parentline do not realise what an important role they play in their children's emotional growth and development."

Parentline is hoping to recruit more male volunteers to help out at the charity.

Mrs Spillman added: "Parentline has great difficulty in recruiting fathers to work on our helpline with only one in ten of our volunteers being men.

"Often fathers do not consider volunteering but in fact their experiences can be a great source of support to other parents."

Volunteers are now wanted for Parentline's next training course starting in January. Any parent who is interested and has a few hours to spare each week should call Rosemary on 01702 554782.

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