An Euxton Hall Hospital manager is in training to ensure British soldiers receive first-class medical treatment should they be injured while serving in battle zones across the world.

Sharon Stewart, who is the clinical operations manager, will combine her civvy-street health service duties with an extra-curricular commitment to serving in a Territorial Army (TA) field hospital, which could see her deployed on military operations.

Major Stewart, 40, a former pupils of Ribbleton Hall High School, Preston - now City of Preston high school - serves in 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital (Volunteers), an Army unit largely staffed by like-minded medical professionals, who give up part of their spare time to train as military medics.

Field hospitals are set up wherever the British military operates – such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

The TA soldiers provide the expertise and medical know-how to use this equipment to treat injured soldiers.

Major Stewart, who lives in St Michaels-on-Wyre with husband Guy and their three children, Lucy, Angus and Connie.

She has been a member of the TA for 17 years, currently training at 207’s base in Blackburn, and served an operational tour in Iraq in 2004.

She said: “It’s about feeling proud that you have done something for your country and helping with the mission.

“My work colleagues think I am mad. They can’t imagine how I fit it in, with three children to look after and a hospital to run.

"But being in the TA does help you with your civilian life – you become more flexible and adaptable and able to work better under pressure.”

The TA, which is celebrating its centenary this year, is an integral part of the British Army, representing over a quarter of its total manpower.

TA soldiers serve on a paid, part-time basis, usually training at evenings or weekends.

Since 2003, almost 1,500 TA soldiers from the North West region alone have deployed on operational tours of Iraq, Afghanistan or the Balkans.