AS job adverts go, it must rank as one of the more unusual.

Keith Mulhearn, also known as Roman Centurion Maximus Gluteus, has put out the plea for his Minimus to step forward to work with his tour guide business.

He said his Roamin' Tours business was becoming so successful with school groups that he needed to recruit a sidekick.

"It is getting really popular," he said. "We do not just take the kids around, they actually get enlisted in the army.

"Everybody loves it because we teach them how to march through the streets shouting left, right' in Latin."

Keith, founder of the successful York Roman Festival, said he knew setting the job description a bona fide legionairy would be a challenge.

"I thought: how am I going to find a Roman soldier?' because they are going to have to like dressing up for a start," he said.

"They have got to be able to be great with kids; they have got to talk at their level and make sure they have fun at the same time.

"They have got to be a storyteller. Dates and information is not important.

"You do not have to know lots about the Romans to be able to teach."

He said: "Whoever is lucky enough to get the job can expect a varied and interesting career, without the normal Roman soldier worries like whose turn is it to wash the legion's underpants."

Keith brought his first Roman Festival to the city in 2003 and it has since become a regular fixture, bringing up to 30,000 people to the city and boosting the region's economy.

He is also behind the Battle Of Fulford Festival and will launch the first Yorkshire Pudding Festival, celebrating the famous dish, in August.

Anyone who thinks they are up to the job should phone Keith on 07707 892747 or email him on keith@roamintours.co.uk.


New recruit ready to ride into action

A HORSE rider from East Yorkshire has been named as the Roman Cavalry's newest recruit.

Ben Cousins, 23, from Holme-on-Spalding-Moor, had training in 2,000-year-old equestrian skills to claim the honour.

He will make his debut appearance at English Heritage's From Romans To Royals event being staged at Bolsover Castle, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, on the May Day Bank Holiday weekend.

Ben, a keen show-jumper, has been trained by Mark Atkinson, of Atkinson Action Horses based in Eastrington, Goole, where Mark trains horses and riders for television, film and public displays.

Ben said: "The Roman Cavalry had very different saddles, and rode without stirrups. Just staying on the horse is hard enough let alone wielding a sword or a lance."