MP worried by fire service switch

The move has been attacked by Wealden MP Charles Hendry, who believes the efficiency of the service in tackling flooding and other unforeseen events will be affected.

He said: 'Gordon Brown's expensive plans to regionalise the fire control services are flawed.

'They could actually undermine the effectiveness of the emergency services in tackling disasters like floods where co-operation between the local council, fire, police and ambulance services is essential.'

Mr Hendry also pointed out the new control room in Fareham would cover eight million people and a 19,000 square km area.

He added: 'These centres should be as close as they can be to the areas they serve and the government should reconsider this ill-conceived proposal.'

A spokeswoman for East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said the safety of the public in the county was at the forefront of everything the service did.

She added: 'The safety and welfare of the public in East Sussex is of paramount importance to us.

'We are currently working with others in the region to set up the control centre in Fareham, Hampshire, to ensure that the current level of excellent customer service is not affected by the move to a regional control centre.'

The move comes as part of the government's plan to relocate 46 control rooms into nine regional control centres.

A poll of Fire Brigade Union members conducted by YouGov found 95 per cent of polled firefighters saying the new regional centres would damage the service's ability to respond to incidents.

Around 90 per cent also said the safety of firefighters would be affected by the plans.

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