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Jumping

He says: “Shaving my head, being called ‘Joe’, having that fresh new start and building yourself into becoming this new person, that is way better than what you were in civvy street.

“I can tell you now, if I was to pass out, I’ll be a completely different person.

“The moment I’m given that rifle and on that plane jumping out into a war-torn country... I’m not going to be able to call my mum and ask her to give me a hug.

“I’d just look at my old self and say: ‘Yeah, I’m done with you, you can go back in the closet and then I can be showing off this new person I am.’”

Candidates have to prove their mettle by marching and running over courses between one and 20 miles long while carrying dead weights.

One night exercise sees recruits trying to avoid being captured in -10 temperatures.

“You get so cold you almost go warm,” says Private Chad Allmark. “So, because you’re shivering so much… the wind just blows and cuts through your face.”

Lieutenant Dan Lovegrove says the recruits are given a tough ride to bind them together as a group against a common enemy – the staff.

And Private York Avery, an 18-year-old recruit from South Africa, explains: “They are sort of like your parents because you do something wrong, they’ll teach you a lesson. You do something right, they will reward you.

“They’re there every step of the way, even if it seems like they’re f***ing a***holes.”

The Paras are the only regiment to still practise “milling”, in which two soldiers of similar weight