A HOTLINE set up for lonely fathers received calls from teenagers wanting to see their estranged dads over the Christmas period.

Bolton based Saturday Fathers Together (SFT) set up the special 24 hour helpline to help lonely dads over the festive season.

SFT director Andy Kearney said the hotline was a "massive success" this year receiving 40 calls, including some from teenagers wanting to see their fathers.

Last year the hotline received only 25 calls but this year they received a record number of calls.

Mr Kearney said he was surprised by the number of children contacting the voluntary organisation.

Mr Kearney said: "A lot of the calls we took were supportive compared with last year when people were ringing up to find out what we actually did.

"It was a surprise to receive phone calls from teenagers. We had one young lad who rang us to see if we could arrange for him to see his dad after Christmas. Other teenagers wanted to know what rights they had about seeing their dad.

"Teenagers now can access us more easily. They have mobile phones and they can go up to their bedrooms and give us a quick ring. We were there to offer them support.

"We also received some calls from dads who wanted to know what their legal rights were. We had one dad who was an alcoholic and was told by his estranged wife that he couldn't see his kids unless he took part in a drug or alcohol rehabilitation programme. We listened to him and sorted him out to see the relevant people." Fathers in need of support can ring 01204 370588, visit their office at 10, St Georges Street, in Bolton town centre, contact them via e-mail, Drop a line...saturdayfatherstogether@bt internet.com or visit their website at www.saturday fatherstogether.co.uk