A LIFELINE providing friendship and support for elderly residents living alone has been promoted by its television personality founder.

Dame Esther Rantzen visited the Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, to speak about The Silver Line service.

Silver Line began 18-months ago after the former That's Life! presenter and Childline founder, began looking into loneliness in old people.

Since it began, Silver Line has taken 414,000 calls nationally and each day it receives just under 1,000 calls from people across the country.

Many callers are people whose wife or husband has died or they are living alone with little contact with other people.

Callers are passed through to volunteers manning a free confidential phone service which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

In order to maintain the confidentiality, those calling The Silver Line service are patched through to a call handler from outside of the same area.

Call handlers then try to match up the elderly resident with a volunteer who has similar interests and contact is made.

Then the parties can arrange to maintain contact via phone, email or letter.

Dame Esther said: “We are here at all times and we provide a confidential service.

“Some people call the help line regularly and several times a day while others have complex needs.

“One person told us that when he put the phone down he felt like he had rejoined the human race. Why should someone feel like that when we are at the end of a phone?

“I am surprised at how well it has taken off. The good news is that they trust us and that we run a really good service that people come back to for more.

“The sad news is that there are people on their own who do not want to be a bother to family or friends.

“If they are low and they keep it to themselves then it can damage confidence and it can damage health.”

Dame Esther was speaking to the Friends of the Bowes Museum.

Caroline Peacock, chairwoman of the friends group, said: “She has always been a champion of good causes.

“Nearly two years ago she set up The Silver Line as old people sometimes need someone to talk to.”

Silver Link can be contacted free from a landline, or at local rate on mobiles, via 08004-70-80-90, on Twitter at @TheSilverLineUK or on Facebook at facebook.com/thesilverlineuk