ChildLine volunteer Colin Butler and his wife Gillian went to a Buckingham Palace garden party last week.

Mr Butler, of Poolbrook, has been with ChildLine since its inception in 1986 and is its longest serving volunteer, apart from president Esther Rantzen.

He was deputy head of a secondary school in London when he saw an advert for ChildLine, which was just being launched.

"I had to deal with difficult cases of child abuse and I could see that if children had a way to contact the authorities in confidence that would be much better," he said.

Since then, Mr Butler has done at least one phone-answering session every week, dealing with harrowing stories of abuse and suffering.

But some things have improved in the 20 years that ChildLine has been in existence.

"In the old days we would hear from children who had been abused for several years before they called us," said Mr Butler. "Now we get called a month to six weeks after the abuse begins, which is definitely because there's more awareness of the problem."

Another change is that mobile phones have become so widespread, particularly among youngsters, that it is easier to contact ChildLine.

Mr and Mrs Butler visited the Palace last Tuesday, July 11.

"I'm sure Esther Rantzen was responsible for us being invited and we enjoyed it very much. It was a very British experience," said Mr Butler.

The couple are now involved in a new Friends of ChildLine fundraising group in Malvern. Anyone interested in helping should call 01684 560219. If you are a young person needing to talk to someone, call ChildLine on 0800 1111.