ARMY chiefs have met anti-bullying campaigners for the first time to discuss ways of forging a partnership to tackle the problem.

Delegates from Daniel's Trust and the Forces Helpline, both set up to help bullied Armed Forces staff, were invited to visit the infantry training centre at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, which is part of the Army's School of Infantry, and trains about 2,000 recruits a year.

Lynn Farr, whose son Daniel died at Catterick in 1997, told military chiefs they were regularly contacted by soldiers across the country who alleged they were being bullied.

Mrs Farr said that in the past week, both organisations had received information that two recruits were allegedly being bullied at the centre, which is separate from the rest of the Catterick Garrison base.

Malcolm Thorn, of Skipton, North Yorkshire, who set up the Forces Helpline last year, told how he was bullied in the Army.

He said: "The soldiers won't go to the Army Welfare Service. I have got four cases from Catterick already. They are frightened."

Lieutenant Colonel Philip Jennings, the school's chief of staff, and Lieutenant Dominic Strutt, commanding officer of the 4th Battalion, said they had a zero-tolerance policy towards bullying.

They assured the delegates that all incidents would be investigated thoroughly, but said they needed to be given information regarding the incidents to take matters forward.

Lt Strutt said: "The difficulty is that one person's bullying is another person's hard training, but if someone thinks they are being bullied, then that is good enough. We will investigate."

Mrs Farr said soldiers felt they could not talk to anyone about bullying within the Army for fear of repercussions.

Lt Strutt said: "We have to investigate every single incident. The key thing is to get to the bottom of who is doing it.

"We need to communicate to the lads that all the time it is not getting fixed, one of their mates could be getting bullied."

Lt Col Jennings said there were procedures in place to deal with allegations. Alleged bullies are always interviewed and removed from duty while investigations are carried out.

He vowed perpetrators would be punished.

* The Daniel's Trust's Fight Against Bullying wristbands are £2, or free to serving soldiers. Contact Liz Lamb on (01325) 505079 for more details.