FARMERS in remote parts of Scotland face daily risks to their own health and safety due to mobile phone "not spots", the union representing the sector has claimed.

NFU Scotland said lone working on extensive farms was commonplace but that inadequate mobile phone coverage was denying many in the industry a lifeline.

The union said it was now urging the UK Government to play its part in ensuring all regions of Scotland had access to adequate mobile phone services.

The appeal comes just days after the Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched a consultation on tackling poor coverage.

Westminster is seeking views on how to eliminate so-called 'partial not spots', which are areas in which there may be a signal from one or two operators but not all four (O2, EE, Three and Vodafone).

In Scotland, around 10 per cent of properties do not have 2G reception from all networks, with 'partial not spots' found in cities and on major travel routes, as well as remote areas.

Geographically, 27.5 per cent of the country's land mass has no mobile coverage.

In its response to the consultation, the NFU has called for a concerted effort in achieving improvements with targets on coverage set at a local rather than a national level.

NFU Scotland policy manager Gemma Thomson said: "While many in Scotland take mobile phone coverage for granted, there are significant areas of the country where our members struggle to receive a signal.

"That has health and safety implications, were there to be an emergency.

"However, from a business perspective, satisfactory mobile phone reception is an everyday essential and in order to ensure that remote businesses can remain competitive and secure, it is vital that coverage is extended. The additional benefits of improved coverage on businesses in affected areas should not be underestimated."

Launching the consultation earlier this month, UK Culture Secretary Sajid Javid said users in many parts of the UK regularly suffer from a poor signal, adding: "It can't be right that in a fifth of the UK, people cannot use their phones to make a call.

"The government is not prepared to let that situation continue."

But the NFU said setting national targets would simply gloss over the issue in marginal areas and result in investment only in areas where it is most economically advantageous to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).

It said coverage targets should be set at a local authority level adding that the urgent need for better coverage in rural areas had seen a number of NFU members approached by operators to provide 'rent free' mast sites in order to improve coverage.

Ms Thomson added: "The behaviour of those seeking sites has given rise to concerns and landowners should not be pressurised into providing solutions free of charge. While it may be appropriate to have national targets on coverage, we have used this consultation to stress that unless delivery is defined at a local area, sparsely populated areas will always lose out."

"It has been suggested that the firms should be made to open up their networks to non-subscribers, if the customer is in an area where they are unable to use their usual network.

"However, the industry opposes the proposal, and is instead believed to be willing to spend millions on new masts in a bid to fend off laws that would force a change."