The campaign to keep 24-hour cover at Birchwood Fire Station got the full backing of Warrington Borough Council.

A motion calling on Cheshire Fire and Rescue Authority to stop their plans to end 24-hour whole time cover at the fire station was unanimously approved by full council.

Clr Chris Fitzsimmons (LAB - Birchwood) said: “This isn’t just about Birchwood, it also concerns all areas of Warrington east. The target time to reach some of these areas is 20 minutes, do we really want to add another five minutes on to that time?”

The fire service want to run the station part time in the evenings with retained firefighters called from their homes should there be an emergency at night.