Parents get no help until they crack up, says Mencap

The mental health charity says most parents do not get breaks and desperately need help from their local authorities.

One mother of an eight-year-old girl with severe learning problems said she found herself at breaking point one morning in January.

"I broke down in front of my kids. I told them, I just can't take this anymore. I have to go. Can you imagine how scared they were?" she said.

Mencap says there are thousands of parents in the same situation and as part of National Learning Disability Week, which starts on Monday, has launched a campaign to get more support from social services for these parents.

It says every family of a child with mental problems should get regular breaks as a matter of course.

And they should not have to battle for the support they need.

I broke down in front of my kids - I told them, I just can't take this anymore Mother of child with learning difficulties

Jo Williams, Mencap's chief executive said often local authorities did not step in until the carer could not longer go on, then the child would have to go into expensive full-time residential care, costing up to �100,000 a year.

"If local authorities provided short breaks for families before they reach breaking point, they could save a lot of money," she said.

"But more importantly, they could save the human cost of a family experiencing crisis and despair.

"Mencap wants every family who needs a short break to get one, before it's too late."

Social services directors concede resources are tight and too often parents are left without support.

But they say more money is going into new forms of support and these are beginning to be put in place.