FIRE chiefs want to get rid of Ilkley's second fire engine - because there are not enough firefighters to man it.

But the loss of the second pump, which has not been used for 15 months, will not make Ilkley any less safe to live in, said West Yorkshire's deputy fire officer, Kevin Arbuthnot.

The Fire Brigade Union is opposing the move and has accused fire chiefs of not being enthusiastic enough about recruiting for the retained fire station.

In order to run two fire engines the station, in Valley Drive, needs at least 15 firefighters providing 24-hour cover.

This can be made up of 15 staff giving 24-hour cover or more than 15 staff providing eight, 12 or more hours a day. At present there are only ten staff covering 24 hours a day, allowing them to operate one pump only with back-up from Rawdon, Shipley or Keighley.

A proposal to remove the second pump will go before a Fire Authority sub-committee at the end of this month. If it is approved, the plan will go to public consultation before being decided by the Secretary of State at the Home Office.

Bernard Clarke, the Fire Brigade Union West Yorkshire representative of retained firefighters, said: "The ratepayers of Ilkley, which is a growing residential area, deserve the best fire cover possible."

He said that the town needed two fire engines, not just one, and appealed for anyone interested in becoming a part-time firefighter to contact the fire station.

But he also accused fire chiefs of applying a too rigid criteria when it came to recruiting part-time officers. He said that people who worked in Ilkley and lived outside the town should also be considered because they could provide cover for part of the day.

"Once the second pump has gone from Ilkley it will never come back. They should have done a far better recruiting drive," said Mr Clarke.

If the second fire engine is dispensed with, none of the firefighters at the station will lose their jobs because they will all still be needed to man the one fire engine left.

But Mr Arbuthnot rejected any claim that the force had not tried hard enough to recruit in Ilkley.

And he said that the extra vehicle was in the town 'in name only' because it had not been used for so long and the plan to remove it was just a 'consolidation' exercise.

"In Ilkley we have got enough people to manage one pump which is correct for a town of this size," said Mr Arbuthnot.

He said that despite the growing size of Ilkley, the town could still be covered by one fire engine because of the nearby cover provided by other fire stations and the fire safety measures in new buildings.

Under Government regulations, there would be enough local cover if the town's fire station closed down completely but he said there was an intention to keep it open.

"I am pretty much of a view that the community should have a fire station in it," said Mr Arbuthnot.

Mr Clarke said that if the proposal got the go-ahead from the fire authority, the union would be carrying out a publicity drive to keep the extra vehicle during the subsequent public consultation exercise.