Firefighters who battled to save their station will leave with a heavy heart when it closes its doors for the last time next month.

Pudsey Fire Station will shut after 30 years as part of sweeping changes announced by West Yorkshire Fire Authority to improve the service.

It will merge with Bramley at a £3 million state-of-the-art complex at Stanningley which will have two fire engines and becomes operational on Monday, February 10.

But plans to simultaneously open a new station in Leeds Road, Bradford, to replace Nelson Street, have not gone ahead because of delays in buying all the site.

When the controversial proposals were announced by the fire authority, Pudsey fire crews collected a 9,000-signature protest petition.

And some firefighters still fear the cover - which will see the Pudsey fire engine moved to Fairweather Green in October - will not be as effective.

David Chapman, pictured, who lives in Stanningley, joined as an 18-year-old and has served all 24 years of his career at the fire station at Dawson Corner.

"I am not very happy, I have spent half my life here and in my opinion there is no need for it to be closing, it is cutting a third of the service of Pudsey.

"It will be a very sad day and I will be one of the last to walk out the doors. It will be difficult to realise we are not coming back."

Mr Chapman, 42, will join Blue Watch at Stanningley with his leading firefighter colleague Malcolm Nelson, of Birkenshaw, who has worked there for 13-years and also strongly opposed the changes.

"I didn't like the way it was sold to the public," he said. "But we can do it and it will work, times change and sometimes you have to move on."

The new watch both men will join in Stanningley will be 18-strong compared with their old seven-strong team.

Station Commander Nigel Craven, whose father Colin worked as a firefighter at Pudsey in the 1970s, claimed the cover provided would double by bringing two fire engines closer to the Pudsey community.

But he said everyone would miss the sense of camaraderie.

"There is a general feeling of sadness, he said. "This has been a good station and I've really enjoyed my time here.

"They are very hard working and very close watches and it makes it fun to come into work."

West Yorkshire Chief Fire Officer Phil Toase described the new station as "the jewel in the brigade's crown"

"I am convinced that not only will it enable us to improve services in the Leeds area but that it will also prove extremely popular with the staff who work there," he added.