The average age of callers was between 11 and 15, but children as young as four were reporting acts of abuse.

Anne Houston: Wants to to do more

The charity's Scottish Director, Anne Houston, said there were still hurdles to be overcome.

But she said the increase in the number of calls showed more children were getting the message that child abuse was unacceptable.

Ms Houston said the charity performed an essential service for children - and that youngsters could be offered tangible help.

"The first important thing for these children is that they are listened to and taken seriously and feel that an adult is prepared to spend time with them," she said.

"There's then a whole range of things we would think about doing, including helping them think about what adults might be around that they could talk to that they maybe don't quite have the confidence to talk to.

More boys calling

"They can sometimes practise the words they use or indeed we can identify who else could help them and if they want we can actually get them that help at that point."

The service can cope with about 500 calls a day from children in Scotland, but the charity is concerned there could be up to another 1,000 calls a day it is unable to answer.

In the coming years the charity intends to increase the number of calls it can deal with and it wants to recruit more volunteers to handle calls.

The charity aims to recruit more volunteers

Some of the increase in calls has been attributed to boys phoning to discuss issues surrounding physical and sexual abuse.

Ms Houston said: "It's a double-edged sword that one.

"On one side we are actually quite pleased about that because in the past we have known boys find it difficult to talk - and certainly with increasing young male suicides there are issues about whether they do talk in time.

"So we are pleased they are getting the message it's okay to speak, but the other side of that is that it's a real concern that there is this number of children who are being abused and who need help and safety."

Earlier this year, ChildLine called for the introduction of a children's commissioner in Scotland.

It followed the publication of a report into abuse in homes in north Wales.

Scotland's Minister for Children and Education Sam Galbraith has asked the parliament's Education, Sport and Culture Committee to look at the question of whether a commissioner should be created.

MSPs are expected to report to the Scottish Executive on the matter in the next few months.