Up to 120 Sandhurst cadets confined to barracks after being hit by vomiting bug

The sudden outbreak of the unidentified vomiting bug has forced top brass to close all catering facilities at the historic officers' training college.

Movements between staff and students at Sandhurst, in Camberley, Surrey, and other military sites have been curtailed to stop the illness spreading.

Sandhurst: Mystery bug has struck up to 120 cadets

Prince William on parade at the Sandhurst Military Academy

Early yesterday the Ministry of Defence called in an emergency environmental health team to track down the source of the virus.

One college source said it was spreading through the college 'like wildfire' and had affected more than one in ten cadets.

Theories range from food poisoning to an airborne virus at the academy, where Prince William and Prince Harry trained before they both became officers in the Blues and Royals.

Investigators are also testing the water in a college lake after cadets took part in a dragon boat race there.

The insider said: 'Cadets are going down like flies. It's a nasty diarrhoea and vomiting bug. Very debilitating.

'The Army are saying that 80 people have been hit, but the numbers are as high as 120 and some have put it at 147.

'Those who have contracted it are being confined to their rooms and treated by staff from the college medical centre, who are run off their feet. It's like something out of a Hollywood disaster movie.'

An MoD spokesman said last night: 'A number of cadets have been taken ill overnight. It is under 100 at the moment. We are awaiting confirmation of tests to establish what the illness is.'