BLAENAU Gwent’s MP says he is concerned about the fire service’s financial control after discovering they spend nearly £350,000 on 152 light vehicles.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) are facing a loss of revenue of up to 12 per cent in the next three years and have argued their 152-strong light vehicle fleet is a cost-effective way to reduce risk to communities.

But with this pool outnumbering the 96 SWFRS fire engines, Nick Smith argues this is proof not enough is being done to protect frontline services. The figures were given to Mr Smith in a letter by Chief Fire Officer Huw Jakeway.

On Friday, consultation ended on the future of a Blaina fire station and a Cwmbran fire engine, which are facing the axe to make savings.

IN 1996, two firefighters based at Blaina lost their lives battling a house blaze in the village. The widow of Stephen Griffin, who was one of them, Margaret Griffin is one of the campaigners battling to save Blaina station. Consultation on the proposals ended last week.

MP Mr Smith said: “To me this shows SWFRS are just not being tough enough on their own costs and are going for the wrong targets.

“I am sure some of these vehicles are needed, but 152 feels excessive – especially as this fleet’s costs are far beyond that of manning and running a fire station in Blaina.

“I think any reasonable member of the public would rather firefighters in their community than this very large suite of vehicles.

“Instead, they are set to strip jobs from our community and close a station with great importance to the area and the service. When you see this sort of financial flabbiness, coupled with more than £100,000 spent on their communications team, it makes you wonder if there aren’t other costs they could be getting a grip on.”

A breakdown of the £2.5m vehicle costs of the service shows £130,182 is spent on 74 Emergency Response Vehicles, which are available to officers above the rank of Station Manager to provide on-call cover.

Another £185,194 is spent on a 63-car pool for staff in the Community Safety and Business Fire Safety teams to work across the service area, while a further £31,463 is spent on 15 vehicles for non-operational staff to provide on-call availability across south Wales.

A SWFRS spokesman said: “South Wales Fire Service have been making efficiency savings for a number of years in order to cope with the real term budget cuts it has been receiving year on year.

“The Service is also facing a potential cut of £10 million over the next five years and has to plan its Service Delivery within this financial reduction.

“We recognise that in order to reduce risk and attend incidents our Officers have to mobilise into the community, they would not be able to do this part of their jobs from behind their desks.”