NEW data released by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has revealed a significant decline in the number of firefighters across the UK, including Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The figures show that Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIOWFRS) has lost 435 firefighters since 2010 - a 24 per cent decrease.

This is amid a national crisis, with 12,000 firefighter posts axed nationwide during the same period.

The Hampshire numbers are higher than the national average.

One in five firefighter jobs (21 per cent) across the UK have been axed in the last 14 years.

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One in three fire control staff, who take emergency calls and mobilise crews, have been cut.

The FBU warns that these cuts have compromised the UK's ability to respond to emergencies, particularly in the face of increasing climate-related threats.

Response times to life-threatening fires have slowed by three minutes, from 6.11 minutes in 1995 to 9.13 minutes in 2023.

England was the worst impacted, with 10,000 jobs cut (22 per cent). In the same period, Scotland lost 1,400 firefighters (18 per cent), Wales lost 500 (13 per cent), and Northern Ireland lost more than 200 (12 per cent).

Twelve fire and rescue services in England have lost a quarter or more of their workforce. The worst hit service was Buckinghamshire, which has been cut by over 40 per cent.

The FBU has also found that 4,000 firefighters have both a full time and an on-call contract, meaning that they will be counted as two firefighters in the data.

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This double counting means that the numbers employed and available at any one time are significantly lower than official figures suggest.

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, expressed deep concern over the cuts: "Fourteen years of austerity have devastated the fire and rescue service. Every region has been hit, with 12,000 firefighters lost to cuts across the UK."

He added: "With flooding, wildfires, and storms on the rise as a result of the climate emergency, firefighters are being asked to do more with less. 999 response times are slower than ever before, putting homes and lives at risk."

The FBU is calling for urgent investment in the fire and rescue service to ensure public safety.