COMMUNITIES across west Cumbria are celebrating victory after councillors performed a dramatic u-turn and scrapped plans to close a number of fire stations.

The part-time facility in Frizington had been one of the stations facing the axe because of Cumbria County Council cutbacks.

Maryport was also earmarked to lose its second fire engine as part of the unpopular plans, which the authority argued were necessary as it looked to slash £76m from its budget over the next three years.

But in a spectacular u-turn, those plans have now turned to ash.

At a county council meeting yesterday, councillor Barry Doughty, cabinet member with responsibility for the fire service, recommended scrapping the plans.

He said: “Following the recent floods and the announcement by Theresa May MP regarding the movement of Government responsibilities relating to fire and rescue services from the Department of Communities and Local Government to the Home Office, I am recommending that now is not the right time to consider these closures given the uncertainties ahead.

“I am, therefore, recommending that the closures of four stations, the relocation of the Walney on-call fire engine to Barrow fire station and the removal of the second on-call fire engine from Maryport will not be taken forward.”

Thousands of people across Cumbria joined different campaigns and signed petitions in a bid to encourage councillors to have a re-think.

The new recommendation was approved – although councillors warned the savings would still need to be found as it had been estimated their closure would produce annual savings of £438,000, with a further

one-off cash boost of £365,000 generated from the sale of the buildings.

To meet this year’s budget the authority now looks likely to dip into their cash reserves.

Residents in Frizington were delighted at the news their village’s fire station has been saved from closure.

Peter Thompson, owner of Thompson’s Bakery on Main Street, said: “This is a step in the right direction.

“Without this station everything would be down to Whitehaven and I think it would be too much work for Whitehaven.”

He has personal experience of the good work done by the local crew, as around five years ago they put out a series of trees behind the shop which had caught alight.

“They came out and sorted it, no problem,” he said.

Nicola Close, who runs The Cutting Room hair salon, also on Main Street, said: “The crews go all over the place, not just to Frizington.”

Simon Milligan, who runs KKS Body Repair, also on Main Street, added: “I signed a petition and put it in.

“I wanted them saved just in case my garage ever catches fire.”

Peter Connolly, who represents Frizington on Copeland Council, added: “This is excellent news for Frizington and excellent news for the people of west Cumbria because Frizington is one of the fastest stations to get out to calls.”

Gwynneth Everett, the village’s other ward member, was also pleased.

She said: “I am absolutely delighted for all of the hard-working firefighters.”

Les Skarratts, secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in the north west, said: “The council have rightly recognised how vital firefighters are responding to major flooding emergencies.

“Firefighters are dealing with the impact of flooding more than ever and Cumbria is better served by having these stations remain open.”

He continued: “This was an issue that the local community felt very strongly about. They have been on the receiving end of terrible flooding and were going to see the emergency service that helped them cut back even more.”