Teenage prisoners are being given the chance to experience army training while still in jail.

The scheme, being tested in Wetherby and Dover, aims to improve the young men's chances of getting a job and staying out of trouble when they are released.

Inmates enrol for a 12-week course which teaches them to stand to attention, salute and march in formation. Tough exercise sessions, team skills and map reading are also on the schedule along with the banes of army life - room inspection and cleaning duties.

But all knowledge of weapons and ammunition will come from textbooks.

Eventually the two sites hope to train 100 young offenders at a time. At present, however, the pilot scheme at Wetherby Young Offenders Institution has taken on just five.

Encouragement

Ryan Johnson, 17, from Doncaster, serving 12 months for driving while disqualified, said the course had encouraged him to take up a career as a soldier when he is freed.

"This is brilliant for me," he said. "It gives me some self-esteem and confidence.

"My family are really proud of me for doing this and I feel like I'm achieving something even though I'm locked up."

To get on the course, teenagers have to be serving two years or less and nearing the end of their sentence. Prisoners with convictions for drug, race or sex offences will not be accepted.

Second chance

The young offenders will not be able to join the armed forces for six months after their release and Lieutenant Colonel Chris Manning of the Army Air Corps stressed the scheme was not a recruitment drive.

However he said enthusiastic ex-prisoners would be welcome to apply.

"We believe that young men and women who've made a mistake early in their life should be allowed the opportunity to have a second chance provided they meet our strict entry criteria and are good enough to get in," he said.

The army is suffering a fall-off in recruitment and retention rates. The government recently confirmed the armed forces would be seeking new recruits from among the young prison population.