AN Army veteran embarking on a new career in media met The Duke of York when he opened a new training facility yesterday.

Mark Bradshaw, from Newcastle,who served for 23 years in the Royal Artillery, is studying for a HNC in media production at the state-of-the-art Forces Media Academy in Buckinghamshire.

Prince Andrew, who is Royal Patron of the Services Sound & Vision Corporation which runs the centre, spoke to him during a tour of the Academy.

He said: "To provide a course like this, for either retiring or leaving veteran service personnel, is absolutely second-to-none.

"There are a number of media organisations in this country, who are looking for additional skills. They are looking for core skills of resilience, the ability to be able to deliver work unsupervised and to be able to get on with things in a way that the servicemen and women can do."

Mr Bradshaw : "With a figure-head like HRH The Duke of York opening the Academy, it makes me realise what a fantastic opportunity this is."