Children as young as five are phoning a helpline to be read a bedtime story because their alcoholic parents are too drunk to put them to bed, a charity has revealed.

Some call so regularly their favourite books are kept next to the phones, according to the National Association for Children of Alcoholics.

The desperate youngsters often ask to hear classic Disney tales, while Horrid Henry and Roald Dahl books are also popular.

Desperate: Children as young as five are phoning a hotline to hear a bedtime story because their parents are drunk to tuck them in, a charity has revealed. Picture posed by model

Others want to hear made up stories. A seven-year-old girl phoned the hotline on Christmas Day to ask for a story about her imaginary friend, a dog called Bruce.

She told the counsellor how she had received no presents and was hiding from her drunk parents under her bed because she was scared.

Hilary Henrqiues, the charity's chief executive, said fictional stories help children believe 'that things can be different from the life they live at the moment'.

She also revealed how on one occasion a counsellor had to help a five-year-old girl phone 999 after her drug and alcohol addicted mother locked herself in the bathroom overnight. Paramedics later arrived to find the woman had died.

According to a parliamentary group there are 2.5 million children of alcoholics in the UK, with MPs branding it a 'secret scandal'.

Escape: Fictional stories help the children see their lives can change. Picture posed by model

Nocoa received 32,000 calls and emails from children last year, the Sunday Express reported.

Nacoa is marking Children of Alcoholics week following the launch of a manifesto by MPs calling on the Government to take action.

The all-parliamentary group, supported by the Archbishop of Canterbury, said their research uncovered a 'shocking picture of support for children of alcoholics', including an apparent absence of strategies to deal with the issue and a dearth of funding in many areas.