THE number of fire engines serving the county is often "below minimum", a report shows.

An inspection of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service has found there are often fewer engines available than the minimum requirement.

On occasion, data shows there are only 41 engines available - well below the minimum of 52.

The inspection was carried out by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.

READ MORE: Firefighters post image of car dumped right in front of gate

Two out of three categories - efficiency and people - were rated 'requires improvement'. Effectiveness was rated 'good'.

But the fire service union claims "fire and rescue performance is declining rapidly" due to cuts.

The report highlights that workforce has dropped by 10.4 per cent in the last five years.

This is significantly more than the England average of just over one per cent.

READ MORE: IN THE DOCK: 10 cases heard in a Southampton court

Dave Hunt, Fire Brigades Union official in Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service, said: "Firefighters will all tell you the same thing: cuts to resources mean that fire and rescue performance is declining rapidly.

"Firefighters and firefighters in our control rooms do the best job they can do each and every day, but with less firefighters it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain public safety.

"There has been a drop of 10.4 per cent in the workforce over a five-year period and quite clearly as evidenced in the report that this is impacting on response times and the availability of fire engines across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

"It is of great concern to our members and will be to the public that the services minimum level of fire engine is set at 52 and the reports states this is rarely achieved.

"We are aware that at times including today when the report has been published that there are only 41 fire engines available, well short of the services own minimum standard.

"We will continue to review the document and provide an in depth response and review to the report once we have discussed through our structures of the Union."

READ MORE: Hunt for man who flashed women at Southampton beach

Inspectors said that the service's overall efficiency at keeping people safe and secure "hasn’t improved".

But they added that the service "has the skills it needs to manage change".

Chief Fire Officer Neil Odin, said: “This is our first full inspection report since we combined to become Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service and I’m proud of the hard work and dedication our colleagues have shown in bringing our two services together.

“I’m pleased to see that the inspectors have recognised the progress we’ve already made in improving our culture and values. But we’re not complacent and remain committed to making sure we are an inclusive and welcoming employer for everyone.

“We know that the availability of our on-call firefighters continues to be a challenge, particularly during weekdays, and we are looking at ways to improve that.

“This report recognises that our response to incidents in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight is good, that we work well with our partners, and understand how we can help people to stay safe by preventing fires and reducing risks.

“The inspectors have taken a thorough look at our service and probed into every corner of our work.

“We’re already tackling many of the report’s recommendations and will continue to push ourselves to be the best possible fire and rescue service for the communities we serve.”

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article on the Daily Echo. Your support means we can bring you the latest breaking news, exclusive Saints features and coverage - and much more.

Digital subscribers get unrestricted access to all of our stories, our dedicated app including e-version of the newspaper, and an advertising-light website.

If you want all the latest articles delivered straight to your inbox you can join the thousands of subscribers who are signed up to our newsletters.

They include our popular daily morning news briefing, breaking news, crime and court, and Southampton FC bulletins - plus business, heritage and our what's on newsletters.