Angus Council's neighbourhood services committee agreed last Thursday to give the unit access to the purpose-built base which is located in the Glen Doll Car Park.

Members heard that, during the past two years, the police and civilian mountain rescue teams have been called out to incidents in Glen Doll on 17 occasions.

Call outs often occur in bad weather conditions or in the hours of darkness, and rescues are difficult and physically demanding for team members.

Prior to the building of the ranger centre, a wooden shelter was used by rescue teams for respite and briefings.

This was removed as part of planning conditions when the new ranger base was constructed, so there is currently no shelter available for the rescue teams.

Convener of neighbourhood services Jim Millar said: "Glen Doll is the main southern gateway to the Cairngorms National Park as well as giving access to Corrie Fee National Nature Reserve.

"There are around 70,000 visitors to the area each year, including many who enjoy hill walking, skiing and climbing.

"We want to support the rescue teams who come to the aid of the very small minority of visitors who get into difficulties."

"The council's ranger service already operates a route card reporting system which helps to locate casualties, and we are happy to allow the ranger centre to be used as a base during rescue operations."

In welcoming the news, Colin MacDougall, team leader of the Tayside Police Search and Rescue Unit, said this was a real boost for the service.

He said the police team works in close partnership with the volunteer team 'Tayside Mountain Rescue' to provide a mountain rescue service in the area.

"In the past two years we have had about 100 callouts across the force area and Glen Doll is recognised as a hot spot for us.

"We very much welcome the use of the ranger base there during incidents and see it as a good example of how we can work effectively in partnership with other agencies, making best use of resources.

"To be able to brief rescuers in a good environment is far better that out in the car park."

Speaking last Friday, he spoke of the conditions facing those heading out into the hills, and warned climbers and walkers not to become "complacent."

"This year has seen winter conditions that have not been experienced for many years. In particular we have had a large amount of snowfall in the past 24 hours which has increased the risk of avalanche.

"I would urge anyone venturing out to make sure they are prepared for the conditions and informed of the potential risks and prevailing weather."

The leader, who has been involved with mountain rescue for 20 years, added the unit has been called out a few times this year and advised those venturing out onto the hill to ensure they are properly equipped.

"Most people now are very well equipped, compared to a few years ago, but our advice is "don't be complacent."