YOUNG farmers claim they have been let down by The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, after a number of them have been unable to get a plot within the east camp site of the Royal Highland Show.

Each year, YF caravans are towed there from locations all over Scotland, to occupy six-person plots applied for and allocated in advance. Applications for this year's plots have reached capacity, which is not unusual – but some applicants claim that they weren't told they were being rejected until it was too late to find alternative accommodation.

Affected young farmers have since hit out at the RHASS on social media. Mark Guthrie, 20, of West Mosside Farm, Kilmarnock, said he and five friends had applied for a plot, and as far as they knew had been successful in acquiring one. However, after hearing last week that some people had been told they did not have a pitch, Mr Guthrie realised that no confirmation had ever been received.

He said: "I decided to contact the RHASS, just to be sure our application had been successful, but they came back to us to say that the form we had sent was not filled out. I was initially quite annoyed about this because I couldn't understand why they hadn't contacted me to tell me it was blank!"

Mr Guthrie then proceeded to check the application form he sent to the society, and noted that it had been filled out correctly: "I contacted RHASS again to explain that the form was submitted correctly, but I never even got a reply to that email," he said. "To find out just three weeks before the show that we do not have a plot is an absolute joke. Booking accommodation this late is pretty much impossible, but even if we do manage to get somewhere, it will cost a fortune!

"You just can't help but wonder if the society even supports young farmers at all," said Mr Guthrie. "My advice to the society is that they need to remember the importance of having us at its show. Every time it goes against young farmers, we lose interest in going, and if it's not willing to support us, who's to say there will even be a show in 20 year's time?"

Responding to the social media criticism, RHS spokesperson Judith O’Leary said: "The RHS is a victim of its own success in that all caravan parks (members, trade and young persons) are full. Our stabling, cattle halls and sheep marquees are also at capacity. Therefore, much as we would like to accommodate everybody, we operate on a first come, first served, basis, and those who apply late risk being disappointed.

"Specifically in relation to the east caravan park, there was a slight delay in informing applicants as the team had to reconfigure the space to comply with new Health and Safety Executive requirements," she admitted. "This we were able to do without reducing the number of pitches, however, despite our best efforts, we were unable to meet demand."

Ms O'Leary also claimed that the number of plots made available this year remained the same, but some applicants reported that after being told they did not have a plot, they were later informed that they had one after all – some suggested that, contrary to the official version, the number of plots had in fact been cut, and then reinstated after complaints.