27 June 2012 Last updated at 07:40 ET

Children's charity NSPCC opens expanded service centre in Nottingham

The art therapy room is a place where children can "explore their feelings"

An art therapy room will be part of an expanded centre for vulnerable children and their families that has opened in Nottingham.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children offically opened the centre on Wednesday.

It will also offer face-to-face support and counselling for children along with other services.

The NSPCC also provides a Childline helpline service for the East Midlands from another base in Nottingham.

'Happier future'

"The art therapy room is a space where young people can express how they are feeling through art - it is a place where they can explore their feelings," Liz Tinsley of NSPCC's Nottingham Service Centre said.

The revamped Nottingham centre, one of 40 across the UK, will expand its staff from six to 16 and offer an additional five services.

New programmes at the centre include help for young children at risk of sexual exploitation and a family reunification service for children reunited with their birth parents.

A record number of almost 45,000 people in the UK contacted the NSPCC in 2011 because they were worried about a child - more than 25% above the figure for 2010.

Tom Rahilly, from the charity, said: "The new services we are delivering from the centre will help to turn around the lives of many of the most vulnerable children in the city, giving them a far happier future.

"There are around 90,000 looked-after children in the UK who deserve the best support to overcome the effects of abuse and neglect and protection from further harm."

Childline also operates a website where children can talk directly to a counsellor.