More than 80 per cent of parents are too scared to talk about family problems with their partners and ex-partners, a survey has revealed.

The report by support charity Parentline Plus claims that 2,100 parents and carers from Oxfordshire were among those who have called its free helpline since January.

An in-depth analysis has since been carried out on 110 cases and it found that 81 per cent of callers lacked confidence in talking with their partner or ex-partner.

This affected the problems they were having with their children's behaviour.

On top of that, ten per cent called the helpline asking for help with their relationship and 40 per cent called the helpline rather than talk about the problems they were facing.

Parentline Plus Chief Executive Dorit Braun said: "It has become abundantly clear that it's not possible to separate children's needs from the needs of the families.

"The behavioural difficulties of the children in this study were sometimes serious and the parents who rang were very concerned to support their child but they themselves needed support to do this."

The Parentline number is 0808 8002222.