THE leader of Glencoe Mountain Rescue has criticised thieves who broke into a shed and stole thousands of pounds worth of equipment used to save the lives of climbers.

John Grieve said he was appalled by the actions of those responsible.

Meanwhile, a local councillor has raised claims of police cutbacks in the area.

Among the £11,500 worth of equipment stolen was a quad bike which is used for, among other things, taking stretchers bearing injured climbers off hills.

Mr Grieve said he was puzzled as to how the thieves knew to target the shed as the equipment was not stored at the team's well-known base in the village.

Mr Grieve said: "We rent a store at what used to be the old Glencoe Hospital which has been turned into a luxury hotel.

"We use what was the ­ambulance garage but there is no big sign on the door saying Glencoe Mountain Rescue. So the thieves obviously knew about it.

"They managed to break in through the roof. The first night they didn't take much, but they came back next night and took a lot more."

He said they had removed a whole range of equipment from a radio to an anchor, and a pump for the inflatable rescue boat.

He said: "We had equipment we kept for use in the event of a plane crash, like smoke masks and eye goggles. They were taken.

"They even tried to take the outboard motor off the boat, but they didn't manage as we had secured it in an extra way."

He said they would manage to replace most items, but the loss of the quad bike was more serious.

He said: "It was covered by motor insurance. So we will probably get around £3000 but it will cost about £8500 to replace with a new one. That is a direct loss that we will have to bear, as we need one.

"We use it for getting into some areas and can also use it for taking stretchers off certain hills. We also go up to service our radio masts on it. It is used a lot."

He said that the night after the second break-in last month, there had been one at the nearby Clachaig Inn.

There have been 70 call-outs so far this year in the area, and nine people have lost their lives.

Highland Councillor Andrew Baxter, who lives in nearby Kinlochleven, said he had already written to the senior police officer in Inverness claiming that frontline police had been reduced in the area.

He said: "That was even before I was aware of these events in Glencoe.

"There are new specialist units being formed, and they are recruiting from the area. So in South Lochaber (including ­Glencoe) our frontline police numbers have been reduced from five officers to three. If criminals were aware of these reductions they might well think we are a soft touch."

The team was involved in the operation to recover the bodies of four climbers who died after being engulfed by an avalance in Glencoe in January this year.

Cllr Baxter said: "They risk life and limb to help people and then this happens."

Alister Sutherland, chairman of the Glencoe and Glen Etive Community Council, said it was worrying that there appeared to be a rash of break-ins and anything that undermined the work of the mountain rescue team was of particular concern.

A Police Scotland spokesman said they were now following a positive line of inquiry in respect of the quad bike and that there was no intention of reducing the number of officers working out of Glencoe.

He said: "It will remain at five."