ALMOST £5m is set to be spent on cutting edge new equipment for Hampshire's firefighters, while more than 200 jobs are likely to go.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue has published its budget proposals, with the service needing to find £16m of savings over the next four years.

If the plans are approved at next week's meeting of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority next week, 60 full-time posts and 152 retained positions wold be lost.

However, Chief Fire Officer Dave Curry says there will be no compulsory redundancies with many of the posts already vacant.

As revealed in the Daily Echo, plans to halve the night-time cover at Hightown Fire Station have been shelved, while Redbridge will get a new engine.

Most of its 51 stations will see a slight reduction in the number of firefighters, but Mr Curry said the public will not notice a difference in services offered.

The service's council tax is also set to increase by 1.99 per cent.

As part of a one-off investment of £4.9m, the service will buy new equipment including vehicles, protective clothing and new firefighting equipment.

The new Cobra kit allows crews to punch small holes through buildings to spray a fine mist in, bringing the temperature down so firefighters don't have to enter in temperatures of up to 600°C.

The new vehicles are also described as more agile and able to negotiate crowded streets better than current engines.