MERSEYSIDE Fire & Rescue Service faces a 47% cut in Government spending over the next five years after inflation.

And its leader is warning the level of budget cuts may be so severe he cannot guarantee being able to protect the public.

The service has already been forced to make significant cuts in recent years, resulting in station closures across Merseyside and a more than 33% reduction in the number of fire engines, firefighters and equipment available.

Chief fire officer Dan Stephens said: “The fire and rescue service is the only emergency service which has not been protected from the cuts.

“The latest round of government cuts further challenges our ability to maintain the safety of the public.

“The current level of emergency response cover is already under pressure and these additional cuts will make further reductions in whole-time appliances and therefore closures of fire stations inevitable.

“Our firefighters and support staff will continue to do all we can to keep the people of Merseyside safe, but the ongoing cuts to our funding make it increasingly difficult to do so.”

He added: “We now have no alternative but to identify what are the least worst options for emergency response cover across Merseyside.”

There are now only 24 full-time fire engines to cover the whole of Merseyside.

The new cuts mean that MF&RS will be forced to make savings of £11m over the same period.

Despite this huge reduction in resources, the service says it has maintained the fastest response times to dwelling fires of all the metropolitan fire and rescue authorities in the UK and carried out more than 40,000 home fire safety checks across Merseyside this year.

Last week, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Authority approved the closure of Eccleston and St. Helens stations, with a new facility to be built on Canal Street in St. Helens, merging the two stations.

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