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An estimated 7,000 British infantrymen are unfit to fight, leaving front-line troops "dangerously exposed", a media report said on Monday.

One in 14 soldiers is sick or injured at a time when every regiment of 600 faces a shortfall of 100 men because of problems with recruitment and the numbers leaving the Army, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Troop shortages are so acute that at least six battalions are being sent to do the job of four battalions when the next brigade deploys to Afghanistan this spring, it said.

The report comes after a parliamentary committee warned last week that pressure on Britain's military to meet its commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq has battered the morale of experienced officers, who are leaving in large numbers.

There are currently 7,700 British troops in Afghanistan, with a further 4,500 in Iraq.

For at least a year, military chiefs have been aware that the strain of two substantial missions in Iraq and Afghanistan would prove a massive drain on manpower and now the Armed Forces are at the very limit of being able to provide personnel for the frontline, the report said.

The Army is already 3,800 short of it desired manning level because of soldiers leaving.

An Army spokesman said, "The forces pride themselves on their fitness and are well known for it but there will always be a small element suffering from sickness or injury and not fit to deploy to an operational theatre."