WORCESTERSHIRE'S fire service is on the "slippery slope" towards merging into a regional service, a councillor has warned.

Richard Udall - a Worcestershire county councillor and member of Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority - said he did not want the authority to "sleep walk" into amalgamating with the Warwickshire brigade.

Coun Udall said he feared the move would lead to the formation of a regional force.

His comments follow the authority's decision to establish a review group to investigate what improvements could be made by working with the service.

Coun Udall voted for the group to be set up to investigate the options, but said he was against a merger with Warwickshire.

"It is a slippery slope towards a regional fire service which would not be acceptable to Hereford and Worcester," he said. "We are proud of what we have achieved in Hereford and Worcester and are proud of our firefighters. We have achieved a lot and a combination with a weaker authority would put us at risk."

He said if an amalgamation was on the cards, it should be with Shropshire.

"I don't want to see a combination with Warwickshire. It would put some of our fire stations on the boundary at risk," he said.

Chief Fire Officer Paul Hayden advised the authority to adopt a "positive, if cautious response" and establish a group, but recommended a range of options be considered. The news follows the Government's plans to replace England's 46 fire control centres with nine regional sites. This would involve scrapping Worcester's centre and having a regional base in Wolverhampton, covering the two counties, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands.

Nobody was available to comment from Warwickshire council or fire service.