LIKE quite a few teenage girls, identical twins Ella and Kitty Gorman have been watching their weight.

But the 19-year-olds have not been shedding the pounds.

Instead, they have both put on a stone so they can embark on an Army career in the Royal Military Police.

The twins, former pupils of Henry Box School in Witney, decided to join the Army more than a year ago.

They signed their oath of allegiance at the Army careers information office in St Giles, Oxford, yesterday, and now face a gruelling training regime – and being apart for the first time in their lives.

Kitty said: “At first we applied for different universities but then we realised it would not pose much of a challenge.

“We have grown up in a military background, so joining the Army seemed the right thing to do.

“We discussed the decision and made it together.”

The twins were only able to swear their oath after both of them increased their weight from about seven stone to about eight stone over 12 months.

Mum Kylie, from Witney, said: “When the girls first approached the recruitment office they were told they didn’t weigh enough to join, so they had to put weight on.

“They have always been competitive swimmers so they were very slender, and they were seven stone when they first came here.

“They had to put on a stone, which meant going to the gym and bulking up so that they would be able to carry heavy packs and weapons.”

Major Carol Miller, who is based at the Army careers office, said the two teenagers would need to be able to carry 35lb packs and wear full kit.

She added: “Part of the selection procedure involves having the right body mass index – if the twins were too light they could injure themselves.”

Maj Miller told them: “You have had plenty of time to be exposed to what is going on in Afghanistan and other parts of the world, and in 18 months you could be going out on operations.”

The twins’ father, Nigel Gorman, 48, is a Wing Commander in the RAF, based at High Wycombe.

Mrs Gorman added: “Coming from a military family is all they have ever known. It is inevitable they could face danger along the way.

“However, they have always known that that is part of what they will face. In two weeks’ time, they will be separated for the first time in 19 years and I think they will face difficulties with that because they do everything together.”

Although the twins are both joining the Royal Military Police, they will be in diffferent platoons.

Kitty starts her soldier training in Surrey and Hampshire on July 5, with Ella starting six weeks later.