MALVERN could be without full-time firefighters at night if a shake-up goes ahead.

Campaigners have warned that the cuts will put lives at risk and are calling for a re-think.

The plan is expected to save £300,000 and is part of an effort to restore the number of full-time firefighters in each fire engine from four to five.

Fire crews of five are beneficial because it means firefighters can work quicker and engines still operational even if a crew member is ill.

But opponents say the increase in crew numbers will come at the cost of on-call full-time firefighters being replaced at night by retained firefighters, who have other jobs.

They are concerned that retained firefighters are not always available to respond to emergencies, do not have specialist training and lack a local knowledge of risks.

Saul Bolton, fire watch commander for Malvern, said: “If emergencies occur during these times then there is a risk to people’s lives through no fire engine being available.

“At present the retained firefighters provide cover 99 per cent of the time, but only for the second fire engine to support us.

“They have been unavailable on 100 different occasions this year already – that is a fact.

He also warned that once a retained firefighter had completed his or her contracted hours they were no longer obliged to respond to call outs. That could mean fire engines being left without the required number of crew members.

“The first fire engine must be available 100 per cent of the time – no less – as provided now.”

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said it will be offering new retained night contracts to the full-time firefighters.

But the firefighters claim this could lead to further instances where fire engines are not available as crew members can book time off-call.

They added that family commitments also mean they cannot take up the additional work at night.

Keith Chance, head of operations for the fire service, said: "Our retained appliance in Malvern was available for 99.2 per cent of the time in 2016 at night.

"Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service doesn't believe it is changing fire cover in Malvern. There will still be two fire engines available at night.

"Our retained firefighters are trained to the same standard. These changes have been proposed not to make cuts but to put crews of five back onto wholetime [full-time] fire engines as requested by the fire authority and the Fire Brigades Union.

"Whilst they are not primarily about savings, we do have to meet the requirements of the Medium Term Financial Plan and this will save £300,000 of the £1.6m we have to save."

The proposed cuts are only affecting stations that have full-time firefighters, which many smaller towns do not have.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service intends to offer specialist training to retained firefighters in a bid to match the rope and water rescue skills currently possessed by the full-time firefighters.

The fire service is still in discussions with the Fire Brigades Union and councillors on the fire authority will receive an upcoming briefing on the changes.

Part-time roles will be introduced to cover full-time fire cover at weekends.