DOZENS of recruits at an Army training base in Hampshire have been treated for a highly infectious gastric flu.

The Army Training Regiment site at Sir John Moore Barracks in Winchester have seen scores of cases of the unknown bug since last week.

Of these 20 in Winchester have the condition in a severe form and are ''bedded down'' in medical blocks suffering vomiting and diarrhoea.

The rest have suffered a mild form of the virus and a handful needed hospital treatment but have now been released, a spokeswoman said.

The Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said that officials from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) came to the barracks last week to take swabs.

''We still do not know what it is. It is a flu-like virus with vomiting and diarrhoea,'' the spokeswoman said.

''We thought we would have the results last Friday but they have not come as yet.'' She explained that nearly all those affected are basic training recruits with a handful of instructors also taken ill.

The infection was first discovered at the ATR's site in Pirbright, Surrey, but it spread to Winchester after recruits from both camps exercised together last week.

It seems the virus has a ten-day incubation period.

Many blocks of accommodation at both camps are now in quarantine and are undergoing a deep clean.

An HPA spokeswoman said the Army had the outbreak under control but the ''flu-type'' virus has not yet been identified.

At the moment there are 871 recruits undergoing phase one or basic training at Pirbright and 395 at Winchester.