A CUMBRIAN deputy lieutenant has voiced concern about a national military staffing 'crisis'. 

It has been reported that three in ten soldiers are deemed unfit for combat, exacerbated by a recruitment crisis.

The Telegraph has reported that 30,000 troops from across the armed forces are unfit for combat operations owing to physical injuries and mental health issues, according to government figures.

The national newspaper reported the greatest problem is in the army where only 53,000 troops out of 75,000 personnel are fully fit for frontline operations.

Gerard Richardson, who is deputy lieutenant, a role historically linked to the military, has stressed the importance for people to potentially look for a career in the military.

Along with being a DL Mr Richardson is also a Royal Navy veteran and has a long family history of military involvement.

He said: "As a veteran myself I'm sad to see what I've been reading in the press. I don't really agree, from the evidence I've seen of youngsters, that it's just as easy as saying that people want jobs near home, or they want to be connected 24/7 because by and large the armed forces accommodate that now as well.

"I think there's some real basic issues with recruiting, when you think back to my generation everyone had a family member who'd been in the forces either through National Service or the Second World War, which sucked millions of people into the conflict.

"Discussions about armed forces and veterans were in every family, when I joined in 1982 there were around 400,000 people in the armed forces and folks thought that was low at the time, now there's less than half of that."