Coastguard petitions with 29,000 names delivered

TWO petitions signed by more than 29,000 people in two of Scotland's major island communities were delivered to Downing Street yesterday, demanding the government abandons its plans for a drastic reduction in coastguard stations.

Under the proposals, only Aberdeen will remain as a 24-hour coastguard station in Scotland, with either the Shetland or Stornoway stations proving a daylight only service.

Members of Shetland Islands Council and Western Isles Council, together with MPs and other campaigners, presented the petitions from the two communities to the Prime Minister yesterday. The Outer Hebrides petition contained 15,170 signatures and the Shetland petition 13,860.

Angus Campbell, the leader of Western Isles Council, said: "The people of Shetland and the Outer Hebrides have made their views quite clear. To get just over 29,000 people putting their names to a petition out of a total population of 48,000 is quite remarkable.

"The people are opposed to the MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency] proposals for the Coastguard service. We have today passed on these views to the Prime Minister and we would hope that he is listening. These proposals will risk lives."