Children as young as four are being targeted as the next generation of nurses by the NHS from today in a major recruitment drive to head off a staff crisis.

Nurses and midwives will go into primary and secondary schools to promote the profession and shake off the stereotype that it is only for women.

The action comes as the NHS suffers alarming staff shortages with 35,835 vacant nursing posts in England – one in ten.

Nurses and midwives will go into primary and secondary schools to promote the profession and shake off the stereotype that it is only for women

Mounting pressures mean that for the first time, more nurses are leaving the profession than joining.

In 2016-17, almost 33,500 quit, over 3,000 more than were recruited. Chief nursing officer, Professor Jane Cummings, insisted nursing remains a rewarding career.

She said it offers ‘the chance to have a profound and direct impact on the lives of thousands and thousands of people in a way that simply can’t be matched’.

The drive unveiled at yesterday’s annual Chief Nursing Officer conference starts in Liverpool before expanding nationwide.

The ‘ambassadors’ will tell young pupils about the various roles in nursing and offer careers advice to older students.