A Bingley mum who runs a soldiers' support charity has backed a call by some of the country's most senior military figures for the Government to properly equip British troops.

Led by three former chiefs of defence staff, The UK National Defence Association was launched yesterday to secure a major increase in defence spending.

Karen Webster whose son, Nicky, served in the Desert Rats in Iraq, said "a combined and prolonged effort" was needed to raise Britain's defence budget.

The newly-formed association, headed up by former Tory MP Winston Churchill - the grandson of the Second World War leader - argues that the Armed Forces budget needs to rise from around two per cent of national income to three per cent.

And it wants all the political parties to sign up to its campaign.

Mrs Webster runs the Support Our Soldiers charity which acts as a network of support between soldiers and their families.

It began four years ago but with conflict continuing both in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mrs Webster has seen her campaign expand from a two-mum operation to a nationally registered charity.

The website attracts up to 5,000 people a week who log on to offer or look for support and even has an area co-ordinator based in Osnabruck, Germany.

She said: "It's absolutely essential that the troops have supplies which allow them to perform to the best of their abilities and it's great that we have the strength to stand up to the Government on this.

"If anything's going to happen it won't be immediately, it will take a combined and prolonged effort to get the budget increased.

"Since the campaign began we have seen an increase in people prepared to stand up and support the lads and lasses and this has had the knock-on effect that the Government are under more pressure to provide for them better and that's a positive thing.

"We are aware of UKNDA and hope to be able to work with it in the future - it has our full backing."

The association's patrons are former defence chiefs General Lord Guthrie, Admiral Lord Boyce and Marshal of the RAF Lord Craig, and former Foreign Secretary Lord Owen.

Among other supporters are former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove and Prime Minister Gordon Brown's security adviser, Tory MP Patrick Mercer.

Speaking before the launch, Lord Guthrie said the lack of sufficient resources for the military had become "a most pressing issue".

"Underfunding of our Armed Forces is already having consequences, both for our overall defence capability and for our forces at the sharp end, which are too thinly spread and being required to go to war with equipment which is often outdated and not fit for purpose," he said.

Lord Boyce, who was chief of defence staff at the time of the Iraq invasion, said: "Even though defence did see an increase in the most recent comprehensive spending review, that goes nowhere near addressing the fundamental issue of proper funding and over-commitment."

Mr Churchill said that inadequate spending was "all too often being paid by men and women of our armed forces in blood" which was a shameful failing of Parliament.

He said: "Twenty five years ago during the Falklands war we were devoting five per cent of all we produced as a nation to defence.

"Today that figure stands at barely two per cent yet we are fighting simultaneously the two most intense wars the United Kingdom has been engaged in since Korea.

"If Parliament continues to call upon its armed forced to engage in wars on multiple fronts, then defence spending must increase."