Teachers yesterday backed calls for a complete ban on recruitment campaigns by the armed forces in Scottish schools.

The move follows concerns voiced earlier this year that the Ministry of Defence is targeting secondary pupils, particularly in deprived areas, to bolster numbers.

The armed forces argue that the purpose of the school visits is not to recruit pupils, but to give appropriate careers advice and that they only go to schools who have invited them.

However, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the country's largest teaching union, voted at its annual meeting in Perth for the practice to be stopped.

Delegates overwhelmingly backed a motion by the Edinburgh branch calling for a ban on the grounds that schools should not be used as a platform for the armed services to foster interest in a career "which could be detrimental to pupils' health".

Linda Richardson, of the Edinburgh branch, criticised the way the Army targeted schools in poorer districts - citing the fact Govan High School had been visited 14 times in two years.

The motion had faced opposition, with claims it was politically motivated as a rebuke to the government's war in Iraq.