Scotland’s 10,000th charity has officially been registered by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

The milestone was achieved when Aboyne Canoe Club was granted charitable status on 19 April 2017.

It comes during OSCR’s 10th year as regulator.

The country’s first charity was granted charitable status by OSCR in May 2006, 10 days after it took up full powers.

That year it went on to grant 676 organisations charitable status. Every year since then similar numbers have been registered, with 854 new Scottish charities being registered in 2016-17.

To become a registered Scottish charity, an organisation must complete an application for charitable status to OSCR.

If successful, they will achieve the status and appear on the Scottish Charity Register. To maintain the status, charities must meet their on-going responsibilities, which include reporting to the regulator annually.

Since OSCR registered the first ‘new’ Scottish charity it has also removed on average 850 charities a year, granted consent to 9,200 changes to charities, and handled around 3,000 external concerns about charities.

OSCR’s head of engagement Jude Turbyne said: “This number should not be taken lightly; a lot of work goes into making sure an organisation has the right to call itself a Scottish charity.

“We meticulously scrutinise each application. The work requires expert knowledge, enthusiasm and vigilance.

“Successful organisations have taken the time to understand our guidance and demonstrated to us that they have charitable purposes and provide public benefit.

"In addition to acknowledging the hard work of OSCR staff, we would like to recognise and thank the other bodies that have supported organisations with their applications for charitable status.

“If any organisation is thinking about becoming a Scottish charity, our website provides guidance on what is involved.”