IT was a little like a beauty parade. But instead of models, a group of Spanish GPs walked the floor of The Reebok Stadium, waiting to be snapped up by the highest "bidder".

Doctors from across the North-west -- believed to be from 50 practices -- touted for business, urging the Spaniards to work with them.

Bolton doctors painted the town as "ideal for family life" and close to all local amenities in the hope of enticing just one Spanish GP to help out an ailing local service.

In fact, the town can expect to get three to four Spanish GPs as part of a pilot project.

The armada of Spanish doctors were wined and dined in Bolton over the weekend as GPs across the town "bid" in a head-to-head battle for an extra pair of hands.

Twenty four Spanish doctors arrived at the Reebok, Middlebrook in Britain's first recruitment drive set to refuel the nation's struggling primary care sector.

And Bolton practices were among a flood of doctors from across the North-west hoping to grab an extra GP.

It is part of a rolling programme which will mean government officials recruiting from Spain every three months to try to swell GP numbers in Britain.

More doctors are needed in Bolton because of a large proportion of ethnic GPs reaching retirement age. There are also not enough GPs being trained in medical schools.

The Government has set down a national target of 2,000 extra GPs and the Spanish doctors are the first shipment from overseas for primary care.

Health chiefs at the Royal Bolton Hospital have already recruited for nurses from the Philippines to fill the vacancy gap.

But the Spanish doctors will still not be enough to fill the "black hole", according to Dr Tony Mathie, a key player in setting up the primary care review.

Dr Mathie, who advises the Government, described this weekend's job shop as "like a beauty parade".

The doctors were assessed over the weekend to ensure they fulfilled British medical criteria.

Dr Mathie, who travelled to Madrid to select them, said: "This move has been well received by GPs who have reached desperation point. The service will fold if we don't get more doctors. I suppose this weekend was a little like a beauty parade. Practices competed against each other to get their extra doctor.

"The reasons why we have done this is that Britain has less doctors per head than anywhere in the civilised world.

"The Government have set down targets but it takes six to seven years to train a doctor. New working directives from the European Union will also mean doctors cannot work as many hours. The jetty will collapse in a few years' time."

The GPs will undergo rigorous training before working in a practice of their choice in the North-west.

Successful recruits will start work in Bolton in May next year earning £40,000 a year and have the option to remain and settle in Britain indefinitely.

The Spanish doctors have been warned of the high workloads but say they are used to seeing between 80 and 100 patients each day.

Dr Franscesc Planasdemunt Tobena is hoping to come to Bolton.

He sees the town as "rural" but still close to major cities, similar to his own practice in Barcelona.

Dr Tobena, aged 35 and a bachelor, said: "I am aware of the high workload but this is similar to Spain. Doctors there see between 80 and 100 patients a day. In Britain, I feel there is more control.

"I am looking forward to really meeting my patients and becoming a friend of the family.

"I love Britain -- although I don't like the wet weather.

"I realise that I will have to improve my language skills. But that is the easy part. The hard part will be learning to understand the thinking of British people. It is so different from the way that the Spanish think.

The Government is set to recruit further GPs from Germany and Italy in the near future for other regions.

It will use the North-west pilot as a role model for foreign recruitment and the next stage will be to employ specialist hospital doctors from Spain in the new year.