AT least two Samaritan volunteers will be on duty in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale every minute of the day and night over the Christmas and Millennium festivities.

Staffing levels will be at the same level as the rest of the year and volunteer Christine said: "Often, times like these are busier than normal. We can all remember times when we have to put on a brave face for those around us when what we actually need is the chance to talk to someone about how we really feel."

Christine is statistician for the local Samaritans, but that is just an extra.

Like all the other volunteers, her first commitment is to be available three or four hours a week to take the calls from people who find life has taken a turn for the worse.

"They are very basic figures." said Christine: "Naturally, we log the calls which come into the centre, but the sheets show only minimum information, such as when the call came in, the duration, if the caller was male or female and, if the information is volunteered, their age."

"We also tick a box if the person who calls talks about suicidal feelings. We have very little information about the people who call us, more often than not we don't even know their first name."

The number of calls to the centre at Market Square, Nelson, has gone up from 12,000 in 1994 to 38,000 in 1999, averaging a call every 15 minutes.

The numbers are 01282 694929 (Nelson) and 01706 830999 (Rossendale). There is also a national number at the cost of a local call on 0345 909090.

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