Longest break between mountain rescues for 19 years

People are heeding advice to stay home and avoid travelling to the hills during the coronavirus pandemic.

Scottish Mountain Rescue (SMR) said it has been 26 days since the organisation’s last call out – the longest break in activity for 19 years.

The statistic confirms people are heeding advice to stay home and avoid temptation to travel to the hills during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last month on March 22 – just a day before Scotland officially went into lockdown on the evening of March 23 – SMR advised: “All travelling to the hills stops now for all of us.”

Since then, the body – which usually carries out hundreds of rescue operations a year – has not received a call out.

On Friday, SMR said: “It’s been 26 days since the last mountain call out.

“That’s the longest time between call outs Scottish Mountain Rescue Teams have seen since the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001.

“We can do this. Stay safe, stay local, stay well.”

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