Doughtys' £1m ChildLine boost when record numbers report sexual abuse

Last week the Post revealed how Nottingham Forest boss Nigel Doughty and his wife, Lucy, were donating £1m to a charity helping Nottingham children who are bullied, frightened or abused. The couple's gesture comes at a time when a record number of youngsters are being counselled for sexual abuse, reports LYNETTE PINCHESS

SPEAKING to staff and volunteers at ChildLine's Old Basford office left Nottingham Forest chairman Nigel Doughty and his wife, Lucy, in no doubt their work is invaluable.

Already long-standing supporters of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), the charity which now runs ChildLine, the multi-millionaire businessman and his wife have pledged to donate £1m from their own pockets to help children in distress.

The cash will go directly to the NSPCC's Child's Voice Appeal in Nottingham, which aims to raise £3.3m as part of a national £50m campaign.

Kerry Dobb, of the NSPCC, said: "Nationally, we have raised £13m of the £50m target. Locally, we have had generous support from people such as Nigel and other local corporates, who between them have pledged over £1.5m to date."

Last October, the Post reported how the charity wants to expand its services, doubling the number of ChildLine volunteers in Nottingham to 160, introducing new online and text services for children and training more people to staff the NSPCC helpline.

In October, 2005, Nigel and Lucy's charitable fund, the Doughty Family Foundation, donated £1m to establish an NSPCC special investigation service in Mansfield.

That was in response to an Evening Post campaign highlighting the scale of child abuse. The money allowed staff to work with the police and local authorities to track complex cases of child abuse and investigate paedophile rings.

At that time, he said: "The Evening Post has highlighted an issue of great importance and should be congratulated for their recent series of articles on the subject.

''I'm a father myself. There's no excuse for any sort of cruelty to children."

And at the City Ground on Saturday, the Doughtys pledged a further £1m to the NSPCC's latest appeal, which will help ChildLine's Nottingham office increase the annual number of calls answered from 12,000 to 20,000.

The gesture could not have been more timely.

Today ChildLine announced that the number of young people counselled for sexual abuse in the East Midlands had reached a new high, demonstrating a vital need for growth of the service.

Last year, volunteers in the Nottingham office talked to 802 children about sexual abuse – a record number in the service's ten-year history. Most were 12 to 15.

The figure represents a 56% increase over the last three years.

This is in addition to calls about bullying, family rows, worries about exams, pregnancy and other fears.

Notts-born Mr Doughty, the co-founder of one of Europe's largest private equity companies, said: "It is a sad indictment on society this sort of problem exists to the level it does.

"These statistics are quite horrific and, if I am fortunate to have some money to give away, I can think of no better cause."

ChildLine is currently able to answer two thirds of the 2.3m calls received each year from across the UK.

The NSPCC's aim, with public support, is to answer every call.

Doughty, 51, said: "I hate to imagine a child in distress or danger who has found the courage to call ChildLine and yet can't get through."

The NSPCC's Marc Hornby said Mr Doughty became an NSPCC supporter in 2004 through family friend, Jenny Farr, a former High Sheriff of Notts and long-standing fund-raiser for the charity.

Mr Hornby said: "As 87% of the NSPCC's income comes from local voluntary donations and fund-raising, it is only with the generosity of people like Nigel and other local supporters that we can offer services.

"Nigel obviously has a strong affinity with the area and is keen to help make a difference to the lives of local children and families."

A reason for the rise in sex abuse calls is thought to be awareness campaigns targeted at children, like the NSPCC's Don't Hide It campaign.

Child sex abuse storylines on programmes such as EastEnders also encourage children to speak out.

Jan Chown, children's services manager, said: "Every day ChildLine receives dozens of harrowing calls about sexual abuse from children, some of whom are very young indeed.

"The vast majority of the abusers being people they know, either within their families, or the wider family circle. They dare not speak about it, or ask for help, for fear of the consequences. Many of them have been threatened or intimidated into silence."

Nottingham Forest is promoting the NPSCC and ChildLine by advertising the number to call on adverts around the pitch, in match day programmes and, shortly, on its website.

"Of the people who go on the website so many are under 18," said Mr Doughty.

Support Child's Voice Appeal at www.childsvoiceappeal.org.uk or call 0844 892 0217.

Worried about the welfare of a child? Call the NSPCC helpline 0808 800 5000.

ChildLine is on freephone 0800 1111.