THE Highlands and Islands is to house Britain’s first virtual Scout pack to allow youngsters in remote locations to enjoy the benefits of woggles, jamborees and the three-fingered salute.

Members who live hundreds of miles apart will meet online once a week to dob dob dob in a secure chatroom.

They will use webcams to allow the pack leader to ensure members’ neckerchiefs are tied properly and to inspect their sheep shanks and clove hitches.

Scouts will be expected to organise their own outdoor activities — such as helping in the community. They will meet up with fellow pack members on adventure weekends and at jamborees.

The plan follows complaints from families in Sutherland, the Western Isles and the Northern Isles, who live miles from their nearest neighbour, that their children were missing out.

The Scottish council of the Scout Association came up with the idea of a virtual pack — similar to those operating in Australia to bring together youngsters from remote areas of the outback — and it is expected to begin in September.

“In some remote communities there isn’t the critical mass of people to justify a local group but that should not be a bar to children who want to become a scout,” said Jim Duffy, chief executive of the Scottish council. “It’s ensuring that children in isolated communities have the same chances as young people in more populated areas to get the enjoyment, fun and personal development that scouting offers.”

Although online pack members will be sitting in front of a computer terminal rather than standing in a Scout hall, they will be required to wear the traditional uniform.

There will be a pack leader — or Akela — and seconders and sixers will be chosen with special responsibilities. Members will also be awarded badges for skills in cookery, first-aid and knot-tying.

The scheme was welcomed by Peter Duncan, the UK’s chief scout and former television presenter of Blue Peter and Duncan Dares. “The Scout brand is all about challenging young people. The virtual Scout pack is a great idea and there’ll be no shortage of youngsters in remote areas keen to take up the challenge and join the adventure,” he said.

The Scout Association is seeking a sponsor to help offset the cost of the webcams.

Officials are consulting child protection experts to ensure the scheme is safe. “We are conscious of the issues over internet access and children but we are committed to extending scouting to as many people as want to take part,” said Duffy.

Will Gardner, from Childnet International, which campaigns to make the internet a safe forum for children, said: “If the right safety precautions are taken, there shouldn’t be a problem. It sounds exciting.”

The idea is the latest attempt by the movement — founded 99 years ago by Lord Baden Powell — to modernise. Last year it introduced a range of pledges for children from different ethnic backgrounds.

While the changes represented a rejection of the “muscular Christianity” and love of monarchy espoused by Baden Powell, they horrified some prominent former Scouts, including Stephen Pound, the Labour MP and chairman of the all-party parliamentary Scout group, who described them as “profoundly retrograde and potentially extremely divisive”.

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