Fire Brigades Union calls for more investment after Isle of Wight wildfire
It comes after a wildfire on the Isle of Wight last week
The Fire Brigades Union are calling for more investment into emergency services, as wildfires continue to rage.
The FBU say there've been over 11 thousand firefighters cut from the frontline since 2010.
A fire on Headon Warren on the Isle of Wight last week prompted crews from across the county to attend - as around nine hectares of land was burnt.
Mark Chapman, Southern Regional Secretary for the FBU, said: "On the given day where the heath fire occurred, there were only six fire engines available, which meant that we had to get a further number of appliances across from the mainland.
"So the initial call with the firefighters attending with six fire engines were under a lot of pressure to try and tackle and contain that incident.
"It was a stark reminder of really how limited we are in terms of resources and the risk it plays on the community.
"What we have to remember is that wildfire was one incident but it drew in 14 fire engines, not only from the Isle of Wight but from the mainland.
"For every fire engine that is committed to one incident, that is taken away from the community, which poses a serious risk to anyone who may be caught up in a road traffic collision, a house fire, or any such incident that we may respond to."
Mr Chapman told us what he'd like to see.
He said: "We're calling for a greater level of investment to reverse the cuts that we've sustained since 2010.
"We're calling on the government to increase the number of firefighters by 5,000 to try and reverse the 12,000 that have been cut in that time."
We've reached out to Hampshire Fire and Rescue service for a response.