More than 1,000 members of the British military have deserted the armed forces since the start of the 2003 Iraq war, the BBC has discovered.

During 2005 alone, 377 people deserted and are still missing. So far this year another 189 are on the run.


Some 900 have evaded capture since the Iraq war started, official figures say.

        
I am approached regularly by people who are seeking to absent themselves from service
says Justin Hugheston-Roberts

It is unclear how many troops are deserting because they do not want to go to Iraq and how many are doing so because of personal reasons such as family problems, BBC world affairs correspondent Jonathan Charles says.

Lawyers who represent members of the military at courts martial say that they are increasingly being contacted by people who want advice about getting out of having to serve in Iraq, even if they do not want to go to the extreme of deserting, a BBC correspondent has found.

So not all British troops have had a lobotomy ! Well done boys.