A NATIONAL helpline has been set up by two North-East men for victims of bullying and harassment in the armed forces.

Ged Walton and Malcolm Thorn, who have both served in the Army, decided to offer help to service personnel after hearing reports of four soldiers who died at the Deepcut Army base in Surrey.

Mr Thorn also suffered physical and mental abuse while in the Army, which led him to have a nervous breakdown in Kosovo in 2000.

He decided he wanted to use his experiences to help other people and came up with the idea of an independent service that would support bullying victims.

The 44-year-old, who lives near Skipton, North Yorkshire, said: "If the website can help save a life then it is a good thing.

"I suffered physical abuse the first two years I was in the Army. I was actually beaten up. You could not tell anyone. You were threatened and told not to tell.

" I left the Army in 1992 but joined the Territorial Army in 1998 and was sent to Kosovo, where I was verbally bullied and made to look small, and I had a breakdown out there."

He joined forces with Mr Walton, 39, of Thornaby, Teesside, who he met in Kosovo, to set up www.forces-helpine.com

The site, which offers support for victims and also gives advice on where armed forces personnel can seek help, was launched on May 4 and has received more than 16,000 hits so far.

A number of soldiers have contacted the site, including a man who has been in the Army for 20 years who said he was being harassed by his warrant officer.

Mr Thorn said: "Bullying can affect anyone. I was 41 when I was in Kosovo and it happened to me.

"We are not here to destroy the Army, the service is there to help it as much as it is to help people serving in the forces."

The voluntary service offers contact by e-mail but Mr Thorn and Mr Walton are hoping to set up a telephone helpline in the future if they can raise funding.

Mr Walton said: "People can contact us about anything, not just bullying and harassment, and we will try to help.

"Some people do not have confidence to contact the Army Welfare Service because they believe someone will find out. We do not know them and they do not know us, it is all confidential."