Soldiers are to get a £15,000 golden handcuff bonus in a bid to quell the crippling recruitment crisis growing in the Army.

All soldiers will receive the payout, which will cost the Ministry of Defence £80m, if they save for eight years, and it will triple the currrent bonus of £5,500 for five years’ service.

Gordon Brown announced the initiative yesterday, and in another bid to boost recruitment and retention, he said MoD sponsored mortgages would be offered to first-time buyers.

A total of 20,340 troops quit the armed forces last year, fed up with poor pay and being separated from families.

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