THE military is boosting the North Yorkshire economy by hundreds of millions of pounds.

A multi-agency team, including the Ministry of Defence (MoD), studied the impact the military has in North Yorkshire and the North East. It said the economy was boosted by £600 million and the military also attracted new business to the area.

The MOD was joined by North Yorkshire County Council, Richmondshire District Council, Tees Valley Unlimited and Yorkshire Forward for the study.

They focused on Catterick Garrison, near Richmond.

The team found that the MOD employed more than 17,000 people in North Yorkshire with most in the Richmond area.

The MOD is also a large employer locally with almost half of the people in Richmondshire working for it.

This leads to making the area attractive and it creates a strong pull for investments in educational, retail and leisure services.

The military supports the local housing market and it also has the potential to bring skilled service leavers into the workforce.