ONE of the Territorial Army's biggest recruitment drives got under way yesterday.

Middlesbrough mayor Ray Mallon made a passionate plea at the campaign launch to boost the number of volunteers in the North-East.

The former police chief said victory in the conflict in Iraq would not have been achieved as quickly without the support of the reserves.

Regiments of the TA in the region need 400 recruits to replace those who have left, or are planning to leave at the end of their service.

Many long-serving volunteers were at yesterday's launch, at 34 (Northern) Signal Regiment headquarters at Brambles Farm, Middlesbrough.

Representatives from the region's other units, including military police, logistics, and the 201 Field Hospital in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, were also there.

Karen Crammond, 39, who works as an intensive care unit nurse at Newcastle General Hospital in civilian life, has been with the TA for 18 years and has recently undertaken a four-month tour of Iraq.

Corporal Iain Paterson, from Darlington, spent three months in Bosnia in 2000 and has travelled the world with the TA in his communications role with 34 Signals Regiment.

During his ten years' service, Cpl Paterson has learned to ski in France, and taken part in a snowboarding championships in Austria and a mountaineering expedition in South Africa.

* For more details about the TA, visit www.ta.mod.uk or call 0845 6038000.