Esther Rantzen has praised work being done in the North East

The TV presenter and founder of the charity ChildLine, was in County Durham to launch a scheme to encourage more schools to tackle the problem.

Her visit comes follows recent high-profile cases in which youngster have taken their own lives after complaining of being bullied.

In June, Northumberland 16-year-old Karl Peart died after taking an overdose of pills and alcohol.

His parents said he had suffered for years at the hands of bullies.

Earlier this week Merseyside 11-year-old Thomas Thompson killed himself because he was bullied at school for being "too clever", according to his family.

On Friday Ms Rantzen launched an anti-bullying website in County Durham.

More than 100 schools in the county have already signed up for a charter mark, which shows they have adopted stringent measures to tackle the problems of playground violence.

They have introduced a system of buddies to mediate in disputes between younger children.

Education bosses say the new website is the latest move by Durham County Council's anti-bullying service.

The parents of Karl Peart claim he was regularly bullied

A spokesman for Durham County Council said: "The website is linked to a new accreditation scheme which will enable schools throughout the county to offer evidence of their determination to tackle bullying."

Ms Rantzen added: "We know from our research that determined schools can tackle bullying effectively.

"But we also know from the children who ring us that all too often school anti-bullying policies are left to gather dust on the shelf, and are not being acted upon.

"County Durham has always been ahead with their efforts to reduce bullying and this accreditation scheme will make it more likely that a school's anti-bullying policy is being put into practice."

Anti-bullying service coordinator Val McFarlane said: "The accreditation is a bit like the star system for hotels, except that our accreditation will be a sign of effectiveness and determination.

"It is good news for pupils, parents and education staff and we hope that eventually every school will achieve it."