Secondary school pupils in Cumbria will soon be able to text their school nurses with any problems they are having.

A text messaging service called ChatHealth has launched in the county, aimed at allowing children to use the technology they are comfortable with.

School nurses will be promoting it across the county over the coming months.

It has already been praised by students who have been introduced to it in the build up to launch.

Beth Bewsher, a student at West Lakes Academy in Egremont, said: "I think it’s a fantastic way for young people and teenagers to finally come forward with personal issues and problems and talk about them without feeling embarrassed."

Amanda Hulse, school nurse at Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) and ChatHealth project lead, explained the scheme.

She said: "The service will allow the school nursing team to provide advice and support to any young person, aged 11 to 19, on a wide range of issues.

"This may include bullying, emotional health and exam worries.

"ChatHealth is a confidential way of speaking to a member of the school nursing team about these worries and the service can be used anonymously.

"We will always honour this confidentiality and support the young people in the best way we can but will always prioritise the safeguarding of any young person if a risk is highlighted."

The text number that any 11 to 19 year olds in Cumbria can reach their school nurse on is 07480 635 458.

Debbie McDowell, assistant practitioner at CPFT and an expert on the project, also spoke about the scheme.

She added: "Input from the children at West Lakes Academy was pivotal.

"Their ideas influenced the design of the promotional materials and how the service was launched.

"We are hoping ChatHealth will be a fundamental component to improving the health and wellbeing of our young people as a whole across Cumbria."

Amanda also hopes that it will help school nurses and other health professionals to target their services specifically to the needs of this area.

"As ChatHealth becomes more embedded in the county it will also allow us to see any trends that are emerging, enabling ourselves and other services to act on this," she added.

"For example, if an issue that is always coming up is tooth decay we can put more resources into educating young people about the importance of cleaning their teeth."