A senior councillor has criticised plans to reduce fire crew cover in West Bridgford and reintroduce it in Ashfield, saying it is "robbing Peter to pay Paul".

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has outlined plans which would see West Bridgford Fire Station have no crew on duty at all at night, and both London Road and Stockhill stations losing one fire engine each.

But in Ashfield, the fire service plans the return of 24-hour cover at the Kirkby-in-Ashfield station.

Rushcliffe Borough Councillor Rob Inglis, Cabinet portfolio holder for Environment & Safety (Con), said he is "extremely concerned" about the plans.

Rushcliffe Borough Council says the plans would see "significant reduction" in services and a possible rise in response times from its West Bridgford Fire Station, at a time when Rushcliffe's population "continues to increase rapidly".

As crews in West Bridgford would come from other areas overnight, this is expected to increase average response times by 43 seconds at a station already significantly above the service's eight-minute target.

Cllr Inglis says he has written to the Chair of the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority Cllr Michael Payne (Lab) and Chief Fire Officer Craig Parkin to outline his displeasure at the proposals.

Cllr Inglis told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "I've got the greatest respect for the fire service, they do a brilliant job.

"I know fires are down generally – but taking away our night shift and giving it to Ashfield is robbing Peter to pay Paul.

"They say reducing the night shift at West Bridgford is saving £660,000 but it will cost £660,000 to put it in Ashfield.

"They are also planning to take away one of the pumps at London Road which is taking our response even further away.

"We need to make our feelings strong that we want to be treated fairly and respectfully."

He added that Rushcliffe has "six major roads" running through it, which see serious collisions.

"I am a former traffic cop and I know the dangers on the road. We've had a huge increase in housing and population which is still ongoing," Cllr Inglis said.

"If someone is trapped in a car, 43 seconds is a long time. I'd like to see what the extreme timings are to get out to Widmerpool or Costock.

"I think it's important that residents comment on the consultation, we need to put our views across".

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has strongly opposed the plans.

The service is looking at a £6m deficit over the next six years and the first plans, intending to save £2m, are currently out to public consultation.

But Mr Parkin told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the plans were the "least worst" option.

The fire service must balance its budget and the Assistant Chief Fire Officer said the service had "no choice but to propose changes to the organisation".

Mick Sharman said: "Regrettably the service has faced over a decade of severe, continued and increasing financial pressures.

"We have a legal requirement to set a balanced budget, so we have had no choice but to propose changes to the organisation.

"The suggested changes have been independently assessed by a sector leading specialist, following a comprehensive risk analysis across the city and county, including in Rushcliffe.

"The location of a fire station, its resources, and staffing models are all informed by a significant amount of data analysis, including community risk profiling and historical incident demand review.

"The proposal is one that enables us to save the money required, with the least impact on service-wide performance."

A final decision on the plans is expected in February 2023 and if approved after the public consultation, the changes will go ahead from April 2023.