Former military personnel with mine-sweeping and weapons experience are in demand from charities working in dangerous developing countries.

Bryan Lloyd, chief executive of the Recruitment and Investment Group (RIG) says the Iraq war

has created a shortage of security professionals to work in other parts of the world.

The mine-sweeping operatives are vital to ensure roads are safe for charities’ aid convoys, while armed security staff can fight off roadside ambushes.

RIG’s new Investigator and Security Careers (RISC) division specialises in providing jobs for these highly sought-after specialists.

Based in Reading, RISC specialises in interim investigators and security specialists with military or police backgrounds.

“These people are needed to guard convoys in places like Sudan, but most of them are currently in Iraq. We have also placed people on projects in Afghanistan,” said Lloyd.

A spokeswoman for Christian Aid said: “In post-disaster situations like that in Pakistan, you do need to work out logistics carefully.

“There is a need for ex-military personnel to guard convoys and make sure the sick and injured people get aid, not people fit and strong enough to haul it off the back of lorries.”

Other potential areas of work for ex-service personnel include counter-fraud investigations for companies trying to prevent their own staff from stealing.

“Ten years ago, society frowned upon people committing fraud – but now fiddling expenses is only considered wrong if you are caught,” said Lloyd.

Retail companies in particular have become concerned with employees committing fraud and have internal projects to combat it, Lloyd said.

RIG has also bought the goodwill of Social Work Resources, whose Socialwork-resources.co.uk jobsite provides qualified social workers to local government clients in the east of England.