The British Army was on the defensive yesterday as five training instructors were suspended amid another bullying scandal which came to light after an undercover investigation at Catterick training barracks in North Yorkshire.

The British Army was on the defensive yesterday as five training instructors were suspended amid another bullying scandal.

Allegations of physical abuse and harassment came to light after an undercover investigation at Catterick training barracks in North Yorkshire.

The Government previously pledged to crack down on bullying in the Army following the scandal at Deepcut involving the deaths of four teenage recruits between 1995 and 2002.

Defence sources said three officers had already been suspended at Catterick before they were made aware of the BBC investigation, screened last night.

But another two were suspended after they received the report from Russell Sharp, who went undercover as an infantry recruit at the base for six months.

Recruits complained to Mr Sharp of being "battered", punched and kicked by instructors. One claimed his shoes had been urinated on by an officer.

A trainee told the BBC journalist: "I was battered in the head - bam, bam, bam - my head was ringing.

"No one takes them on, as everyone fears that, if they do, they will be victimised."

Responding to the report, the Ministry of Defence said: "Bullying is absolutely unacceptable and fundamentally at odds with the Army's core values. We take all allegations of inappropriate behaviour extremely seriously and investigate thoroughly.

"We were already in the process of investigating several cases highlighted by the BBC and where allegations were new, we immediately launched further investigations.

"We are unable to comment on the details of specific cases so that we do not prejudice ongoing legal processes.

"We have a duty of care to our people to make sure that they are prepared for operating in the harshest of environments and for the challenge of combat operations."

Responding to the programme, General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, promised the Army was doing everything in its powers to wipe out bullying.

He said: "We've got quite a task to convert some of these youngsters into tough infantrymen and if that process is robust, that's right, if it has crossed the line to bullying, that's wrong."