A pilot of the new service, called Fathers Matter, started yesterday after fathers were identified as being at far higher risk of killing themselves than childless men.

If successful, the scheme, which is due to run for 12 months in Essex, will be introduced nationally.

Mental health experts say that although postnatal depression in man is not hormonal, it is surprisingly common and brought about by the unique pressures of fatherhood.

These include the expense of having children, the changed relationship with their partners and a fear of the responsibility fatherhood brings. This is coupled in the early stages with a lack of sleep and taking on many of the household jobs normally carried out by their partners.

The Government’s National Suicide Strategy identified suicide as the biggest cause of death in men aged under 35, of whom 65 per cent are fathers.

South Essex Partnership NHS Trust said that the evening helpline was part of a wider study into depression caused by pregnancy and the arrival of children.

“One of the main objectives of Fathers Matter is to help fathers overcome the barriers of asking for help and articulating their feelings,” Mary Alabaster, consultant nurse for perinatal services, said.

“We have trained five men in counselling skills. These five include some dads who have suffered with depression themselves; the others include a male midwife and a counsellor from the mental health charity Mind.”

A spokeswoman for the Samaritans said that the new service was a welcome move. “We know that men are three times more likely to kill themselves than woman, so any type of support such as this is a very good thing,” she said.

Jenny Donovan, a lecturer at Flinders University School of Nursing and Midwifery in Australia, has written a PhD on men’s experiences of postnatal depression.

Her research suggested that men found it a struggle to cope after a birth and suggested that they should be given antenatal classes to help them to adjust. “They were going to work, coming home and looking after the baby, doing the washing and the housework, and many were reaching their limits,” she said.

Ronald Bracey, a psychologist who has studied male depression, said: “I think a lot of men feel very trapped when they become a father for the first time. Their social lives are totally disrupted and they realise that they have lost many of the freedoms they took for granted before.

“They also realise that they now have responsibilities for that child which will probably last the rest of their lives.”

The launch was supported by West Ham United Football Club, which said that it was important for men to talk more about their feelings. “Football matches are one place where men do express their emotions and it does them good,” a spokesman said.

“Too many young men, who are overjoyed about being a father, can also experience worry and anxiety, which can develop into depression and desperation. There’s nothing macho about suffering in silence.”

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