There have been 34,000 applications for more than 10,000 jobs as private security staff at the London 2012 Games, security firm G4S has said.

So far 20,000 of the G4S applications have been made by London-based residents and 4,500 roles have already been allocated.

The 23,700-strong security force that will be deployed for the Games is a mix of military, private security guards and at least 3,000 unpaid London 2012 volunteers who will be used at the start of the security process.

The military will provide 13,500 personnel, which is more than the 10,000 that were deployed to Afghanistan.

G4S staff will be paid from £8.50 an hour in what the company is billing as “the biggest paid recruitment drive of the century”.

G4S opened the doors to its recruitment centre in east London last Thursday, a stone’s throw away from the Olympic Park in Stratford.

Candidates will be asked to attend an interview at the recruitment centre, where they will go through a screening and vetting process before their application is submitted to London 2012 for accreditation.

The recruitment centre will also serve as a training facility, where new recruits will be put through their paces and provided with role-specific training to ensure they are fully prepared for the Games.

Would-be security staff will face a thorough screening, according to London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton.

He said: “This is G4S’s core business and they have rigorous processes. On top of that, we have an Olympic accreditation process with a series of checks so this is about as tough as it can possibly be.”