A LONG-serving ChildLine volunteer from Malvern has called on fellow retirees to offer their time and experience in helping vulnerable children.

Colin Butler, aged 69, who chairs Malvern and Three Counties Friends of ChildLine. takes weekly shifts at the charity's call centre in Birmingham.

The former deputy head teacher worked the very first ChildLine shift in London in 1986 and has talked thousands of young people through problems ranging from suicide attempts to broken bicycles.

After three decades of untiring commitment, Mr Butler says he is not considering hanging up the phone any time soon.

He said: “The need is always there so why would I stop? There’s definitely a demand for people who can volunteer during the daytime and that’s where the retired can step in.”

Birmingham’s centre has 175 volunteers but just 15 of these are retired. In an average week the centre handles 1400 calls, 650 instant messaging chats and 250 emails. Another 75 volunteers need to be recruited to respond to all contacts.

Although Mr Butler worked with children for many years, he says that a lack of experience in this area should not deter retirees from volunteering.

“Elderly people can bring a lifetime of experience from different fields and backgrounds. ChildLine offer a good support network and the training is excellent," he said.

“You don’t need a certain skill set but you must be compassionate and attentive. For example, one caller spoke to me about lots of problems for half an hour before slipping into the conversation that she had swallowed some pills.

“I persuaded her to let me call an ambulance and it arrived just in time.”

But not every call is as pressured: Mr Butler recalls that on Boxing Day 1986, he calmed down a young girl who had broken the bike she received as a Christmas present. To avoid her dad finding out, she had hidden the bike behind the shed.

“You have to remember the lighter calls sometimes,” he said. “You can’t endlessly play back the more serious conversations but it’s incredibly satisfying when you have helped someone in danger.”

He is also keen to dispel the idea that elderly people might struggle to communicate with teenagers.

“It’s a bit of a myth. Young people and old people inhabit the same space and encounter the same problems.”

Prospective volunteers can are invited to contact Kuljinder Nahal at Kuljinder.Nahal@nspcc.org.uk or on 0121 227 7577 for more information.