NINE Army recruits from Worcestershire pledged their allegiance to Queen and country before starting their careers in the Armed Forces.

The recruits gathered in the Worcester Army Careers information office in Foregate Street with friends and family to pledge their oaths.

Neil Bacon, aged 26, from Malvern, was the oldest of the new recruits and is enlisting in the Intelligence Corps. He will be heading to Pirbright, in Surrey, on Monday, January 11, to start his training.

He said: “My dad was in the army and so was my granddad, so it’s in the family. I went to Bath University originally and studied psychology, but I didn’t really get anywhere with it once I graduated, so I decided to join the army like them.”

Jay Roberts, from Worcester, enlisted in the Royal Regiment of Scotland a week before his 18th birthday.

He said joining the Army was a childhood ambition. He will head to the infantry training centre in Catterick, Yorkshire on Sunday, January, 10. He said: “I’m really excited. I can’t wait.”

Other recruits included Liam Berryman and Freddie Lloyd, both 16, from Worcester, twins Rebecca and Victoria Jones, 16, Richard Rendall and Luke Davies, 20, all from Kidderminster and Ryan Lee-Round, 20, from Redditch.