30 want a tot of Rhum.

MORE than 30 people have volunteered to live on one of Scot-land's most beautiful but remote islands.

Government wildlife agency Scottish Natural Heritage is about to launch a search for new inhabitants for the island of Rhum.

SNH, which runs the 26,000-acre island as a nature reserve, is worried about the dwindling population.

In the last three months, it has fallen from 24 to just 19, with only one pupil left in the island's primary school.

But already more than 30 people, including some from England, have asked about moving to the island.

SNH says it wants the right type of people, who can support themselves.

And it is recruiting a new reserve manager, an administrative assistant to run the only shop, and a manager and cook for the island's famous Kinloch Castle.

Greg Mudge, SNH area manager, said the aim was to get the population up to around 50 over 10 years.

"The infrastructure isn't capable of supporting a sudden increase in the number of residents, so we can't just open up the floodgates," he said.

New residents will be able to enjoy some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere.

But life is not always idyllic. The ferry to the mainland, 14 miles away, runs four times a week and is sometimes cancelled for days because of bad weather.