JON Pryce is the man in the hot seat at Malvern Fire Station after taking over from Ian Seward as station commander.

The 31-year-old, who lives in Bromyard, joins the team from the fire brigade training centre at Droitwich, where he was an instructor.

Mr Pryce previously served with London Fire Brigade, covering the West London area.

He takes charge of 16 full-time and 18 part-time firefighters at Malvern, as well as the fire station at Tenbury Wells.

"I'm very fortunate to get such a good station with good people - it makes my life easier," he said.

"It's a lovely area to live in and it's nice that people in Malvern are very responsive and have a good sense of community."

Mr Pryce said he hoped to continue the work of his predecessor and has joined the Vision 21 partnership and the Malvern police Anti-Social Behaviour Partnership.

"Ian was fantastic and gave me a tremendous hand and a lot of access into the groups he was working with," he said.

Mr Seward, who had been at Malvern for more than four years, has moved to Bromsgrove Fire Station.