While "regrettable" and "unprofessional" were the most commonly used adjectives among officers, the lower ranks were rather more appreciative of L/Cpl Roberta Winterton's charms.

 This was especially true among members of 9 Supply Regiment at Hullavington Barracks, Chippenham, Wilts, where L/Cpl Winterton was back on duty yesterday. "She looks better than your average squaddie," mused one soldier studying a copy of the Sun in the village post office where the tabloid sold out in record time.

 Back in the barracks, L/Cpl Winterton's commanding officer was in a quandary: a topless soldier was a new situation and it was still unclear what offence she had committed. "She has quite clearly broken some rules," said a Ministry of Defence spokesman. "But it's a first and her CO is taking advice to make sure that he gets it right."

 What everyone was certain of, however, was that L/Cpl Winterton had let down not only the Army, but the cause of women in the military. The revealing pictures were all the more damaging because they were published in the same week that it emerged that L/Bdr Heidi Cochrane had been AWOL since July with a married sergeant from her unit.

 Both women were also very public faces of the modern Army. L/Bdr Cochrane featured in Army promotional photographs while L/Cpl Winterton had appeared on television after guiding presenters through an assault course for the Children In Need appeal. Both women may face disciplinary action for going AWOL.

 Yesterday, an MoD spokesman argued that topless soldiers were more damaging to the Army's image than brawling ones. Last year David Bateman, a Royal Marine training sergeant, was fined £500 for hitting two young women in the face during a drunken confrontation at a bus stop in Exmouth, Devon.

 "Young men are young men whether they are in the Army or not," said the spokesman.

 Similarly, the revelation that four Wrens aboard the frigate Sheffield had become pregnant during the last 12 months was more embarrassing than the fact that a drugs inquiry had been launched among the crew as the ship sails to the Caribbean for anti-drugs patrol duties. At a time when the debate about women in the front line is raging, L/Cpl Winterton's greatest offence seems to have been that she let down fellow women soldiers.

 The MoD spokesman said: "There are a great many professional women in the Army. In doing what she has done she is not representative of that group. It detracts from the reputation of women in the Army."

9 February 2001: Corporal Roberta torn off a strip for Page 3 pose
9 February 2001: Frigate in ecstasy inquiry
1 February 2001: Pin-up soldier runs off with sergeant
27 January 2001: Women to join the front line
24 January 2001: Hague 'happy to see women fight on the front line'