Elutec students are hoping to be crowned champion gunrunners.
A 23-person crew from the university technical college has been accepted to take part in the annual Junior Leaders Field Gun Competition at HMS Collingwood.
July’s contest will see teams racing to run, take apart, assemble and fire a cannon in the quickest time.
Students will only have five days of training, spending their time living and working together on a decommissioned warship.
The contest is similar to Royal Navy and Royal Marines events, but for youths aged 16 to 24 who have either recently joined the armed forces or are studying at college.
“Our young people gave their heart and soul in this competition in 2017,” said Janice Tricks, an organiser at Elutec.
The team from Yew Tree Avenue, Dagenham, came fifth out of 18 teams last year, she added.
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