THE MINISTER of State for Policing and the Fire Service spoke to firefighters from Marlborough Community Fire Station about their work following a visit to the area.

MP Brandon Lewis visited the station during a visit to the town on Friday, October 21, where he inspected the specialist equipment available for communities in the event of a flood.

Chief Fire Officer Darran Gunter said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the recently appointed Minister to Marlborough. We took the opportunity to provide him with an update on our new safety centre at Wroughton, our work on strengthening the on-call retained duty system that currently operates over 80 per cent of our service, and the Minister was able to see what life is like as an on-call firefighter in Marlborough through discussions with the crew and demonstrations.”

Mr Lewis received a guided tour of the fire station and community elements and was given information on rural fire safety, the service’s youth engagement programmes and road safety initiatives.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority Chairman, Cllr Rebecca Knox, said: "We were delighted to welcome the Minister to Marlborough Fire Station and have the opportunity to discuss with him the positive outcomes of our recent combination and showcasing how we believe we are leading the way in terms of modernising the fire service and progressing our collaboration work with partners."