Scottish Mountain Rescue reports 'extremely busy' year

Scottish Mountain Rescue members include 25 civilian rescue teams

Scottish Mountain Rescue has reported its second busiest year on record in 2022 for call-outs and incidents.

Its teams were called out 843 times to 636 incidents. These involved 21 deaths, with 11 of them mountaineering accidents.

The organisation's members include 25 civilian rescue teams - including Braemar, Galloway and Skye MRTs - three Police Scotland teams and an RAF team.

Chairman Bill Glennie said it had been another "extremely busy year".

Scottish Mountain Rescue's busiest year on record was 2021 when there were 951 separate call-outs to 660 incidents.

According to the organisation's annual report, summer continues to be the busiest season.

A total of 740 people were assisted in 2022, with 90 having been injured. Fractures made up 45% of the injuries.

In terms of mountain rescues, most - almost 320 - involved hillwalking with 69% of these accidents occurring in summer.

The 26 to 35-year-old age group was the most frequently rescued. Scottish Mountain Rescue said this age group was the most likely to be taking part in outdoor activities.

The statistics also record gender for some rescues - 202 were male, 134 female and 93 were described as unspecified.

Of those rescued who agreed to say where they were from in the UK, 112 were Scottish and 21 were English.