I was in your exact same position about 6 years ago, have a degree in aeronautical engineering but three quarters the way through I was pretty much ready to throw in the towel as having done work placement for 8 months in the planning department of a large base maintenance company I decided sitting at a desk all day just wasn't for me.
Logically speaking I'd done 3 years in college and only had one left so though it was better to take one more year off my future than have wasted the previous three, plus it definitely looks better that you have the commitment to finish what you started as when going for an apprenticeship the biggest question a company will have is will you stick with it despite the opportunity of getting "better" jobs with your qualification.
I'm currently an apprentice now at 25 and didn't have any difficulty getting it although from what your saying it does seem to be a bit harder in the UK although a lot of companies seem to be taking apprentices that are older these days. It'll never do any harm to have the degree although it won't help that much at the moment.
I can't see any straight forward way of getting where you want to be without doing an apprenticeship, but thats not to say that it can't be done.