We're looking to get back to England - to Hampshire in particular

Councillor Don Allen

Cllr Allen said Hampshire, like many other local education authorities, was struggling to recruit enough teachers, with around 200 vacancies last month.

It was an expensive area to live, yet teachers there were not given a London allowance, he said.

"It's a high cost area and parts are very exposed, especially in the north where the county borders on Surrey.

"Now we don't have an outer London allowance, but we border on counties which do," he said.

Cllr Allen said the authority had placed advertisements in backpackers' magazines and posters in hostels.

"We're looking to get back to England - to Hampshire in particular, of course - teachers who are from the UK."

Developing countries

Schools and local education authorities which recruit from developing countries, such as Jamaica and South Africa, came under fire by teachers' unions over the Easter conference season.

Delegates accused them of "sucking dry" more needy countries.

Cllr Allen said this was a valid point and said the council had avoided doing this for those very considerations.

"It's absolutely not that - as an authority we have very much concentrated on getting back to the UK and Hampshire those who we'd expect to come back to the country."