All eight British Apache helicopters are being flown on a daily basis, even though it was intended that only six should fly every day, the newspaper said. A number of them have been hit by Taliban shooters, but none have been seriously damaged.

The defense ministry was given one billion pounds (1.5 billion euros, 1.9 billion dollars) for the Afghanistan mission, money that is being used up at a much faster pace than expected, according to The Daily Telegraph's unnamed sources, and it may have to ask the Treasury for more money.

The defence ministry disputed the claims, however, with a spokeswoman telling AFP: "There's no problems with re-supply."

"The force package in Afghanistan is a full and robust package which was asked for by commanders on the ground. They are content with the package." "Of course, its always kept under review."

Some 21 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan -- 14 in combat -- since the start of operations against the Taliban in November 2001 following the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Some 4,000 British troops are currently in Helmand province, with the figure set to rise to around 4,500. A further 1,000 are in the capital Kabul and a few hundred are in the southern city of Kandahar.

There are about 30,000 foreign troops from 30 countries in Afghanistan.

Although the Taliban were ousted from power five years ago, supporters of the extremist movement have this year stepped up attacks on foreign and Afghan troops.

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