Letter: Mountain rescue

The Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland (MRCofS), the representative and liaison organisation for mountain rescue services in Scotland, thanks The Scotsman for highlighting the anomaly of unpaid volunteer mountain rescue teams having to pay VAT on equipment and supplies (your report, 28 December) to provide a service free of charge to the statutory authorities.

In the interests of accuracy, however, we would respectfully point out that the organisation has 26 civilian volunteer member teams, not 12 as mentioned in the article, comprising some 1,000 people who are on call 24 hours every day to provide help, without charge, to anyone who may need assistance in mountainous or otherwise inhospitable terrain.

Alfie Ingram MBE

Mountain Rescue `Committee of Scotland

Hazel Avenue

Dundee