SCOTLAND’S fire service is not recruiting enough firefighters to make up for “a decade of severe cuts,” the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said yesterday.

The number of firefighters in Scotland has increased by just 197 over the past year. But this 3 per cent increase still means that there are 917 fewer Scottish firefighters than in 2010.

Chris McGlone, FBU executive council member for Scotland, said: “Firefighter numbers in Scotland have been slashed over the last decade. This incremental increase in posts is nowhere near enough to make up the difference.