The Lochaber team carries out rescues regularly on Ben Nevis

One of Scotland’s busiest mountain rescue teams has received royal approval with an award for its unpaid members.

Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team, whose patch includes the UK’s highest mountain, has gained the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

The award is the voluntary group’s equivalent of an MBE.

The Lochaber team, whose area stretches from the isles of Rum, Much and Canna in the West to Creag Meagaidh in the East, received the Queen’s award for assisting stranded and people injured people in extreme weather conditions.

Lochaber MRT was one of 117 outstanding UK volunteering groups honoured this year.

The mountain rescuers carry out between 80 and 100 operations each year. Some of the larger searches in areas such as Knoydart can take many days at a time, with up to 100 personnel being involved including members of other teams drafted in to help.

Incidents on the North Face of Ben Nevis, particularly in winter, are regular callouts for the team, based near Fort William.

It was set up in the late 1960s by local climbers to help fellow climbers in difficulties on the mountains of Lochaber and especially on Ben Nevis.

It currently has about 40 men and women in its membership, aged between early 20s to early 60s.

Former broadcast journalist Martyn Lewis, chair of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service Award Committee, said: “This year’s winners of the Queen’s Award for Volunteering have been judged the best in an impressive galaxy of volunteering talent.

“The achievements of these groups prove that volunteering in embedded deep in our nation’s DNA.

“At grassroots level in communities across the land, there are millions of citizens identifying and tackling issues and problems that affect our society in all kinds of ways.

“They are the finest examples of democracy in action, giving selflessly of time and effort to make our country better for everyone.

“It is people like these who provide a fine incentive for even more of our citizens to join Britain’s great and growing volunteer army.”

Nominations for next year’s Queen’s award are now being accepted, with a closing date of 30 September 2013. Information on how to nominate a group is on the Government website.