A marine charity has invested in new equipment to aid fast responses to whale and dolphin strandings.
British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) has bought secure trailers to store their kit which will be stored in Ullapool and Skye to aid fast responses.
The investment follows a mass stranding of pilot whales at Staffin in the north of Skye last year.
The charity said the incident showed that the north-west was short of equipment and people trained to deal with a major incident.
Kit had to be brought from as far away as Edinburgh and Dundee.
An online appeal raised funds for an initial whale pontoon – specialised inflatable kit help refloat stranded whales – was bought and located in Ullapool.
Thanks to an anonymous donor who owns a holiday home on Skye, a further two pontoons were bought earlier this year and located on Skye and Lewis.
Storing the pontoons proved difficult as the team relied on local people to allow them to use space in sheds and work stores.
Area co-ordinator Noel Hawkins said: “After looking at a number of options and what would be most cost effective as well as allow our team access to required kit 24 hours a day, we decided to go for secure trailers that provide safe storage and the ability to move the kit quickly if we have a major incident in the region, or even further afield.
“This was made possible by the assistance from Ullapool and Skye fire brigades who have allowed us to store the trailers on their premises.
“We hope that the new trailers and equipment will allow us to deal with any future incidents in the best and speediest manner that might prove vital in saving our marine life.”
