Army prepares to welcome its first female front-line soldiers this year
An army regiment has announced that it will offer front-line roles to female soldiers from November in an historic move.
The Edinburgh-based Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry (SNIY) will be the first regiment to open close-combat positions to women.
It comes after David Cameron announced earlier this month that the longstanding gender bar would be lifted.
Previously women were banned from serving in the front line.
An army spokesman hailed the move as an "excellent" step forward which would allow the armed services to "maximise talent and choice".
The SNIY unit announced that it will offer the roles to women from November in a pilot scheme set to test out the change.
Army officials will review the new frontline troops after six months, after which they will gradually roll out the scheme.
The changes will be applied across the infantry, Royal Marines and the Royal Air Force Regiment by the end of 2018.