A TEENAGER has starred in his first advert, aged just 17.

Performing arts student Lewis Haythorpe, of Broad Road, Braintree, was recruited by charity Child Soldiers International to star in its latest advert.

The charity aims to stop children enlisting in the Army before the age of 18 and handpicked Lewis from 100 boys to play a child soldier. Teenagers can enlist in the Army aged 16, as long as they have parental consent.

In the space of a week, the hard-hitting video was watched more than 4,000 times on YouTube.

The Braintree College student said: “I was picked out of 100 boys, which was amazing. The guy that put the whole thing together was called Fung and he wanted to make a short internet advert to try and raise awareness of child soldiers.

“The idea of it was a young soldier getting ready for some sort of meeting or ceremony but in reality it was a child getting ready for school.

“We’re not anti-Army, that’s the main focus here.

“But if you go into a shop and look at many shooting games it’s aged at an 18 but you can enlist at 16.

“Fung had done lots of research on this topic and it was really interesting listening to him and his ideas “I found it really fun and a great experience.

“I spent the whole day in London for only a one minute advert, but that’s what it is going to be like.”

The former Tabor Academy student is in his second year of a level three course in performing arts at the college, and hopes to star in films or TV series one day.

Although he has not made plans to go to university or drama school yet, Lewis hopes to work for a year and spend time auditioning for theatre productions before reconsidering his options. He also performs with Theatretrain, the stage school based at Tabor Academy.

He said: “I got the advert through my agency Goldmans Management and I joined that through Theatretrain, which I do every weekend.

“I’ve always been into performing and going to movies at the cinema.

“One day my mum came across this ad for Theatrtrain and I liked the sound of it so I went one week just to try it out and I’ve been there every week for about two years now.

“I have no idea what I would have done in that time. Two years does sound a long time but I would have loved to have joined earlier.”