A NELSON teaching assistant is taking the reins at Pendle and Burnley Samaritans this month -- in time for the charity's 50th birthday.

Sally Lawless, 51, a special support assistant at Edge End High School, Hibson Road, Nelson, has been involved in the Samaritans as a volunteer for many years.

She said one of her aims would be to try to encourage more people to be volunteers.

She said: "Like all branch directors I will still be expected to honour my committment to the callers which means being available in the branch for about three hours a week. It is one of my aims to try to raise the level of awareness of Samaritans in the area and to encourage recruitment.

"Being the director of a branch of the Samaritans can be a daunting task, especially one as busy as ours in Nelson. We have more than 100 volunteers and take almost 40,000 calls a year.

"As director it will be my responsibility for the next three years to keep up the very high standard of service we offer and to make sure that Pendle and Burnley Samritans continues to be a branch of excellence."

Deputy head of Edge End School Rachel Kidd said: "Sally is a wonderful person and everyone here was delighted to learn about her new role. We are very proud of her."