BBC Scotland has been accused by a scriptwriter of 'stealing' the format for his mountaineering series.

Scott Creighton is said to be considering legal action after reading in a Scottish newspaper that BBC Scotland was in the final stages of developing a cliff-hanger series about a fictitious Highland mountain rescue team.

Described as a cross between London's Burning, Casualty and Monarch of the Glen, the proposed six episodes are expected to be filmed on Ben Nevis, and in and around Fort William during the summer. The series of 45-minute programmes, with the working title

Rock Face, would go out at prime time on Sunday evenings.

Mr Creighton said he submitted the idea, a detailed format and script to BBC Scotland for a six-episode TV drama entitled Mountain Rescue in March, 1995. He said: 'I knew it was a winner with the potential for a long-running series'

A month after submitting his idea, he sent a speculative script for the first episode in the hope that the BBC would accept it for development.

He then waited for a decision from Andrea Calderwood, the former head of drama. However, BBC Scotland lost the initial idea submission and script. Mr Creighton sent a revised version - still hopeful that even if it rejected the script, the BBC might still be interested in buying the idea. He said: 'It's more than a cliché to say that good ideas are the life-blood of television, it happens also to be a fact. Although basic ideas are not in themselves copyright, most production companies, including the BBC, are happy to pay writers for the use of good ideas.'

However, BBC Scotland was not interested in his work. Not because they didn't like it but because - wait for it - they had just commissioned an independent company to develop a set of scripts for a series entitled 'Call Out.'

Mr Creighton said; 'I was stunned. BBC Scotland had spent eight months evaluating my idea; lost my script; had the audacity to ask me for additional copies, when all along they were apparently developing an identical idea of their own.'

Mr Creighton said it was standard practice in the film and television industry for companies to refuse to read a writer's work if there existed even the remotest possibility that it might conflict with something they may already have in the pipeline.

'It is anyone's guess what BBC Scotland were doing with my work for eight months whilst developing their 'own.'" he said.

'What I do know is that their rejection letter stated that they felt the second version of my script submitted to them in October was better than the original version I sent them

in April - yes, the very same one they claimed to have lost.'

Call Out was eventually shelved.

Last year, five years after his idea was rejected, Mr Creighton contacted the new head of drama at BBC Scotland in an attempt to resurrect his idea. He was told by Barbara McKissack that 'unfortunately, we are currently developing a mountain rescue based series with an independent producer so it wouldn't be possible to work on another'.

The reply left Mr Creighton less than impressed. 'Auntie Beeb clearly got her knickers in a twist with this one,' he said. 'The decent thing would be to admit that mistakes were

made and come to an appropriate settlement.'

A BBC Scotland spokesman said: 'We do not accept Mr Creighton's argument. The idea for 'Rock Face' came to us fully developed from an independent company. If it gets commissioned, they will make it for us.'