FRONT-line firefighters in Worcestershire have called on the Government to abandon its scheme to build a new regional fire control centre.

The Fire Brigades Union said its members in the West Midlands believed the money earmarked for the centre would be better spent on more staff, training and equipment.

The union has consistently opposed the plan to replace emergency fire control rooms covering Hereford & Worcester, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands conurbation with a single centre at Wolverhampton Business Park.

The union said the cost of renting the regional control centre, which is set to be fully operational by September 2010, would be £50 million over 25 years.

More than nine in 10 of union members polled in a survey in the region said the regional control centre plan should not go ahead.

Hereford and Worcester FBU secretary Steve Laugher said a regional fire centre would be a bad move both for fire crews and the public.

He said: "This will put lives at risk because calls could be taken anywhere - not just Wolverhampton. That will slow the system down and it will take longer for crews to get to fires and in turn put lives at risk.

"One of the things taxpayers should also be aware of is the additional costs - this move is already over budget at the moment and at the end of the day where is this extra cost going to fall?

A spokesman for the Communities and Local Government Department said the project was aimed at improving the service.

"In today's world of industrial accidents, terrorist attacks and large-scale natural disasters we need to build resilience at national, regional and local levels. Given these threats, doing nothing is not an option."

The spokesman said the Government was committed to delivering the scheme on time and on budget.