Hereford and Worcester Fire Service wants to raise £22.5 million from council tax payers next year, towards a total budget of £32.2m.

But it will still need to find nearly £300,000 from its reserves to pay for everything it needs to in the next financial year.

That’s the report that members of the fire service authority will be discussing and voting on tomorrow at Shire Hall in Hereford.

But the feared cuts to staffing numbers appear to have been reversed.

Earlier this year hundreds of people signed a petition against a proposed cut in staffing at Malvern Fire station from 12 to five.

It would have meant that there was not a full-time crew at the station outside of ‘office’ hours, with cover at night being provided by retained firefighters, who answer an emergency.

That seems to have been revered, with chief fire officer Nathan Travis writing to fire authority members to suggest a different manning system.

Now he suggests that Malvern and Evesham stations have both one engine staffed with a crew of five full-time firefighters twenty-four hours a day, and another crewed by retained firefighters who will be available to answer a call around the clock.

Mr Travis’s report said that the proposed cuts to cover in Evesham and Malvern had been a ‘major issue’ raised during consultations with unions, district and parish councils and members of the public.

Taxpayers in band D properties will be asked next year to find an extra £2.37 per year for the fire service, that’s an increase of 2.98 per cent. That means that bad D taxpayers will pay a total of £80.90 towards the fire service.

Worcester taxpayers will contribute £2,582,184, with Malvern Hills payers being asked for a total of £2,494,832 while Wychavon taxpayers will contribute a total of £4,048,774, possibly because of a higher number of larger properties, which are more highly taxed.

The contribution of Bromsgrove will be £2,991,897.11; Redditch, £2,134,166.59 and Wyre Forrest £2,740,210.21 while Herefordshire will put up slightly under a quarter of the total at £5,583,743.01

The meeting begins at 10.30 am on Wednesday February 14 at Shire Hall in Hereford