Arran Mountain Rescue got a boost this week with a grant for £30,000 towards their new operations base at Claddach, Brodick.
The grant from Highlands and Islands Enterprise is the final payment needed to get the new building underway.
Charity The Order of St John contributed £170,000 towards the new base, with the total cost estimated at around £200,000.
North Ayrshire Council helped get the project started by selling them the land at Claddach for just £3,000.
Alistair Bilsland, a mountain rescue team member, said: ‘The demands on the mountain rescue are increasing all the time. We are expected to carry more equipment and attend more training during the winter months. Our new base will have the proper facilities that we need.’
Since the 1960s the team has been based in a garden shed behind the old Brodick fire station. The shed has no toilet and it is too small to hold training sessions in or to store all of their equipment.
Mr Bilsland said: ‘Our Land Rovers are kindly stored in a barn for us by a local farmer and our other equipment is scattered all over the place. We need a centralised base.’
The team hope to have the facility finished by the spring.
Henry Murdo, another mountain rescue member said: ‘We’re delighted with this grant because we really need our new base.
‘Once we get the new base it will make our jobs so much easier.’
The mountain rescue is a completely voluntary service whose members receive no payment.
Arran has around 30 members dedicated to finding and helping walkers who find themselves in difficulty on the hills.
