Letter: Warning for those in needless peril on the sea

Sir: It is fair to ask, you say (leading article, 8 January), whether expensive and commercialised ways of getting your kicks on sea, land and air should be subsidised. No doubt the yachtsmen will speak for themselves, but in the context of mountain rescue the question has been examined by the Scottish Affairs Committee of the House of Commons as recently as last year.

The RAF mountain rescue teams in Scotland, Wales and England are in place to recover crashed aircrew, and if they were prevented from rescuing civilian climbers they would still have to be in place, and would still have to get their weekly training. The civilian teams are self-financing, relying on contributions from their members and other mountaineers, and other fund-raising such as jumble sales. So where is the subsidy?

FRANK CARD

RAF Mountain Rescue Association

Braintree,

Essex