Friday, 23 November 2007, 08:59 GMT
Fire station closures postponed

Plans to reorganise a fire service, possibly closing smaller stations, have been postponed in the wake of the Warwickshire warehouse fire.

Warwickshire County Council was considering proposals to close some of the county's smaller retained stations, including one in Warwick.

But the consultations have been cancelled after four firefighters died in a fire at Atherstone-on-Stour.

A planned protest march through Warwick on Sunday has also been cancelled.

Inquiry results

The closures were expected to be announced on 6 December.

But until the inquiry into how the four firefighters, two of them from smaller retained stations, is completed, councillors have decided to postpone the proposals.

Ashley Stephens, 20, and Darren Yates-Badley, 24, based at Alcester's retained fire station, died as a result of the warehouse fire on 2 November.

Ian Reid, 44, who died in hospital, and John Averis, 27, were based at nearby Stratford-upon-Avon.