Sixty firefighting jobs in Shropshire could go

Shropshire's chief fire officer said up to 60 firefighters, officers and support staff could leave the service to make £3m savings.

The posts will go as staff due to leave the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service over the next four years will not be replaced.

Chief Fire Officer Paul Raymond also warned the public to take extra care over fire safety as the cuts are made.

He said crews would still get to incidents as they had always done.

"But I am asking the community to take positive steps to prevent incidents to help keep costs down," he said.

Pay freeze

Mr Raymond said he estimated £3m was to be cut from a £22m budget over four years.

"If the cuts are deeper or costs rise we will need to take a different approach so I ask everyone to help us to prevent fires and accidents occurring."

The service introduced a pay freeze, recruitment halt and strict spending guidelines at the beginning of the year.

The service employs 550 staff and 50 support staff.