A GROUP of young Scottish skiers have been devastated after thousands of pounds worth of equipment was stolen from their mini-van as they travelled to a major competition in Italy

Members of Glasgow Ski & Snowboard Centre were enroute to the English Alpine Championships in the Bormio resort on the Swiss border when they were targeted by thieves at a roadside services.

The 15-strong group of young people and adults were travelling from Milan airport in three mini-vans laden with equipment needed for their activities when they stopped at a service station for food on Friday.

They were shocked to return from their meal to find one of the vans had been completely ransacked, and equipment belonging to five athletes and three adult members of the party stolen.

Julie Vinter, manager of the club which is based at Bellahouston Park, said : "About 40 minutes after leaving the airport we stopped for something to eat.

"We could only have been in there for about half an hour but when we came out we found someone had picked the lock and emptied one of the vans of everything. And I mean absolutely everything.

"All the things belonging to three of the coaches and five of the kids were taken. They've been left with nothing other than what they had on them."

Gordon Ritchie, director of communications and marketing at national governing body, Snowsport Scotland, added: "This was not your typical opportunist thief. They would have to have had a van or something to load all the stuff into.

"Five of the athletes and three of the adults who come along to coach and help out have lost everything -- their clothes, toiletries and equipment.

"We've estimated that the total value of property lost was around £15,000. These are not rich kids; they are from working class families. The club fundraises all year for this event."

The group were also left bemused by the police investigation before one of the other vans later broke down.

The club and the youngsters' families were the forced to put together some emergency replacement equipment so the youngsters could still take part.

Police were then called to investigate but when officers said they would not come out to the scene, the group set off for the local police station.

Ms Vinter told them there was CCTV covering the area but police had not gone to view it.

She said: "No one did any policing, it was incredible. All they told us is that this sort of thing is 'rife throughout Europe' at the moment."

The championships has since kicked of in a celebratory fashion and once the fellow competitors heard of the youngsters' experience, the rallied to help the team.

Ms Vinter said: "These kids work really hard for this so it has been quite devastating."

Speaking after the first day of events, Mr Ritchie added: "I really have to take my hat off to these kids. Their motivation and spirit has never been shaken by it.

"They really should have been down about the whole thing but when they were given the choice of going home they chose to stay on and continue with the event. They have shown tremendous spirit.

"They're wearing borrowed clothes, which hasn't helped them in the competition, but as one of the girls put it, there's another race tomorrow."

The Glasgow Ski Racing club has members aged from around 11-17 from all over Scotland and has won a number of major events on the continent.