WANTED – people with a love of Winchester history who want to share it with tourists.

Winchester Area Tourist Guides Association has teamed up with the city council, university and Business Improvement District to recruit new guides.

The Green Badge qualification, recognised by the National Institute of Tourist Guiding, consists of a nationally-accredited 15-week training course which is to be run on Saturdays from October 2015 to March 2016.

The course costs approximately £1,200.

Clare Dixon, chairman of Winchester Area Tourist Guides Association, said: “We are very proud of the high quality of the service offered by our team of professional tourist guides and the fact that our qualification is nationally accredited.  The length of the training course and its price reflect these high standards.

“The new guides will need a love of history, sense of humour and passion for Winchester, but also the dedication to pass three national examinations.  We currently have the lowest number of tour guides we have seen for a number of years and are keen to recruit new guides with fresh ideas to enhance the visitor experience  Applicants with a fluent second language are particularly welcome.’

Further details and an application form are available by emailing winchestergbcourse@gmail.com   The closing date for applications is May 22.