Hundreds of Scottish children a year contact Childline because they are lonely a charity has revealed.

The NSPCC - which runs the service - said he true figure was likely to be higher and warned that girls are five times more likely to report suffering from loneliness as boys.

Across the UK, Childline counselled 4063 young people in 2016/17 for feelings of loneliness and isolation.

The NSPCC found 73 per cent of counselling sessions about loneliness were with girls.

Matt Forde, national head for NSPCC Scotland, said online and offline concerns were cited by young people.

“There is no single reason why so many young people are suffering from loneliness and as result there is no simple fix to the problem. What is clear is that the world is becoming an increasingly complex place to grow up in with children and teenagers’ facing daily pressures to achieve what society defines as a successful life – grades, relationships, physical appearance." he said.

"It is therefore vital that children and teenagers have people around them, in particular parents, who they can really open up to about how they are feeling.”

Concerns about loneliness among younger people were highlighted by a Herald poll last month. BMG research found that while around one in four over 65s say they feel lonely from time to time or more often, 59 per cent of 16-34s say they do.