THE British Army needs you!

That is the message to the borough's teenagers from military recruitment bosses in the north west, who fear the recent announcements about cutbacks in the Armed Forces is driving away potential soldiers.

In an fresh effort to fill 11,000 vacancies in regiments from the region, the Army has launched a £100,000 advertising campaign in Bury highlighting the bursaries available for school leavers and "golden hellos" for college students.

Commander Regional Recruiting for the North West, Lieutenant Colonel Leanda Pitt said: "I think the general public believe that the Army is cutting back and therefore not recruiting, which just isn't the case. We have 11,000 vacancies this year and next, which we need to fill and we are looking for good quality recruits now."

"The advertising campaign is targeted at those who left school or college this summer and pupils who have sat their GCSEs and are expecting their results on August 26. "

Lt Col Pitt added: "Not many people know that we offer Army Vocational Bursaries of £1,500 a year for 15- and 16-year-olds who want to go on to study a vocational qualification like catering or languages at college.

"This can make a real difference to parents who now have to pay fees and support their child through courses.

"We wanted to make sure that young people know the Army is still recruiting in the area and that we need young men and women to work in everything from engineering and IT to logistics.

"There are several key areas that we are looking to fill; with chefs, vehicle mechanics and linguists being a priority."