TWO historic Army regiments based in York and North Yorkshire must "bite the bullet" and accept they will be scrapped in a radical military shake-up, a senior defence official has warned.

Single-battalion regiments such as the Green Howards, which recruits in North Yorkshire, and the Prince of Wales' Own regiment, based in York, were "no longer acceptable", he said.

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon will rubber-stamp moves to cut waste and boost recruitment in Britain's remaining 19 single-regiment battalions. The number of battalions in total will fall from 40 to 36.

The source said: "The single-battalion regiments really have to bite the bullet. It is no longer acceptable to force upon other soldiers compressed leave of duty to maintain a system which affects only a small minority, some five per cent, of the Army."

The Evening Press revealed last month that it was likely the Green Howards, the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment and the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, based in Halifax, would merge to form a three-battalion Yorkshire Regiment.

The MoD believes stand-alone regiments are outdated relics of the Cold War era and not responsive responsive to modern "expeditionary" operations, such as those in Iraq.

The MoD is known to be keen to retain the famous names of regiments,

something it achieved in previous amalgamations.

Regiments are also expected to keep their traditions and their own uniform, which boast distinctive colours.

The source said: "We will allow, and encourage them to the degree that they wish it, to retain their nomenclature and 'golden thread'.

"In the past, some have made a clean break and found it better, but it's very much up to those involved. The Army Board is examining all these things in as flexible way as it can."

Four battalions are set to be axed altogether, to reduce the total across the UK to 36. Three are expected to be in England and the remaining one in Scotland.

The 2,500 soldiers from the four disbanded battalions will be divided among the remaining 36, making them stronger.

Army chiefs will also be able to concentrate on training new logisticians, engineers and human intelligence officers - all invaluable for modern warfare and peace-keeping operations.

Updated: 09:34 Saturday, November 27, 2004