Former Scotland rugby captain Rob Wainwright's son follows in father's footsteps to become firefighter

The son of former Scotland rugby union captain Rob Wainwright has taken inspiration from his dad and become a full-time firefighter

Wainwright, who played for the British and Irish Lions, volunteers as an on-call firefighter on the island of Coll, where he and his family live. His 24-year-old son Alex has followed in his father’s footsteps after becoming one of more than 90 firefighters recently welcomed into the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

Alex, who has been helping on the Wainwright family farm, swapped lambing for firefighting after he joined the Clydebank Fire Station’s Blue Watch on the mainland on Wednesday.

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Rob Wainwright's son Alex follows in his father's footsteps to become a firefighter with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Scottish Fire and Rescue Service)

New SFRS recruits will undergo a 12-week training programme to learn life-saving skills in preparation for their new role.

Wainwright said: “I am very proud of him and I’m looking forward to him bringing his newly learned skills and wisdom to the volunteers on the island and showing us how it’s done. He’s more qualified than I am now.”

Meanwhile, Alex quipped he plans to check his father’s fire service kit whenever he returns to Coll to ensure it is “up to scratch”.

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Rob Wainwright said he is proud of his son Alex taking on the role of a firefighter (Scottish Fire and Rescue Service)

As well as learning how to deal with emergencies, Alex said he’s looking forward to getting stuck in and engaging with people in the local community where he will be based.

After watching his father be a volunteer on-call firefighter for almost 20 years while also running the family farm and charity events, Alex added: “The volunteer and on-call firefighters do a great job because they juggle so many different roles.

"It is good to help people.”

Alex supported his father on this year’s Doddie Aid, which Wainwright set up to raise funds for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, founded by the late Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir to find a cure for motor-neurone disease.

Alex and Rob cycled more than 500 miles from Cardiff to Edinburgh for this year's Doddie Aid (Scottish Fire and Rescue Service)

The pair cycled more than 500 miles from Cardiff to Edinburgh ahead of the Scotland versus Wales Six Nations game at Murrayfield.

Area Commander Joe McKay of SFRS congratulated the new firefighter graduates, adding: “I would also like to welcome Alex into my area where he will become an asset to the Blue Watch at Clydebank Fire Station and he will be fully supported in his new role.”