Plans to cut the number of Lincolnshire firefighters

Plans to reduce night cover at Lincoln fire station attracted protests by the Fire Brigades Union

Lincolnshire could lose 12 firefighters as part of plans to cut £1.67m from the fire service budget over the next three years.

One officer would be lost from each of the county's eight full-time stations, with four being cut from the Lincoln South station.

The fire service said the losses would be by "managed retirement".

Lincolnshire County Council will make a final decision on the proposals in September.

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The county has 112 whole-time firefighters and 430 retained officers.

The plans are part of a cost-saving document drawn up by Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service after an 11-week public consultation, which attracted more than 300 responses.

'Challenging times'

Original plans to introduce an on-call system for overnight cover at Lincoln's fire station have been dropped following complaints from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) that it could put lives at risk.

The station will now be fully staffed 24 hours a day.

Other proposed measures include improving fire prevention and seeking to recover the cost of attending false fire alarms.

Conservative councillor Nick Worth said the final plans were drawn up in consultation with the FBU.

"We are operating in challenging times and sadly we continue to experience a decreasing amount of funding from central government," he said.

"This means that every public service we operate has had to re-evaluate and find efficiencies to deliver within a reduced budget."