DO you fancy a change of career? Feel like becoming an all action hero?

Well this job is local. You’ll be in Poole, unless of course you’re posted off to Afghanistan or some other far-flung corner of the globe.

The elite Special Boat Service, based in Hamworthy, is advertising for recruits.

As one of Britain’s most fearsome commando forces, the SBS traditionally bolsters its ranks in secret with the toughest Royal Marines.

However, sources say a lack of recruits has led to top brass sanctioning an advert in Soldier magazine, a publication widely read in the armed forces community.

A former SBS officer, named only as Tom, told a national newspaper that recruits for the crack unit were in short supply because men eager to fight no longer needed to join special forces to get “up close with the Taliban.”

Indeed, the officer said: “In some cases young soldiers are seeing more operational combat than those who serve with special forces.”

The Special Boat Service – whose motto is “By Strength And Guile” – is estimated to have up to 300 members.

An MOD spokesman told the Daily Echo: “The SBS is a tri-service recruiter and this is not the first time we have used the military media to advertise for suitable applicants.”

In the aftermath of the United States Navy Seals raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, it emerged members of the SBS had worked with the Americans to plan the attack.

SBS officers reportedly used their specialist signals knowledge to plan how to block communications at the Pakistan compound during the raid.

The origins of the SBS, formerly known as the Special Boat Squadron, lie in the small reconnaissance and sabotage units deployed in the Second World War.

Famous members include former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown, who lived in Napier Road, Hamworthy.