THE British army is intentionally targeting young people from deprived backgrounds for the most dangerous front-line jobs, according to the Child Rights International Network (CRIN).

The campaign group slammed Britain for being the only European country to recruit 16-year-olds in a report published today entitled Conscription by Poverty?

It found that more British soldiers are recruited at age 16 than at any other age, and said teenagers from the poorest areas are being “targeted” by army recruiters.

Charlotte Cooper from CRIN said: “The army is leaning on teenagers from the most deprived backgrounds to fix its recruitment crisis, using them to fill the riskiest roles because it can’t persuade enough adults to enlist. 

“Yet the evidence shows that this group is the most likely to suffer negative health impacts from a military career.” 

But the Ministry of Defence said it was “proud of the opportunities serving in the armed forces affords young people” and denied that it directed recruitment efforts at deprived parts of the country.