If you’ve ever ridden the world-class XC, 4X or DH trails at Fort William and come a bit of a cropper, you’ll probably know about the Belford hospital. With all those mountains around the place it comes as no surprise to learn that the Belford has an unusually busy Accident & Emergency department – it treats 11,000 patients a year and in Europe is second only to the hospital in Chamonix when it comes to the volume of victims of mountaineering or skiing accidents through the door.

What is a surprise is the plan to downgrade the Belford to “cottage hospital” status. Which sounds all very cosy and homely, but would result in the loss of the A&E department. Whichever way you look at it that doesn’t look like a terribly good idea. That’s certainly the view of The Belford Action Group, which has got up an online petition to support the hospital in its current form. There’s over 6,000 signatures on there so far, many of them from mountain bikers – if you’ve ever been helped by the Belford, now is payback time…