FIRE chiefs have been accused of ignoring strong opposition to the removal of Ilkley's second fire engine.

West Yorkshire Fire Service has agreed to submit a formal application to the Home Office to remove the appliance from Ilkley Fire Station.

A statutory consultation was launched four weeks ago after the West Yorkshire Fire Authority recommended that the town could cope with just one engine.

Fire chiefs said that there were only two objections to the plan, a claim that has left parish councillor Mike Lynes astounded.

He said: "They came to a parish council meeting and everyone there disagreed with the plan - how loud do you have to shout? I would be interested to see what kind of consultation they did."

Coun Lynes said that there was no official announcement from the fire authority when the public consultation began and when it ended.

Fire chiefs said they want to get rid of the appliance because there were not enough firefighters to man it and it had not been used for the last 18 months.

But unions and parish councillors have urged the fire authority to carry out a more effective recruiting campaign to attract more part-time, retained firefighters.

Coun Lynes said: "I told them I had only ever seen one advert for firefighters."

He also said that he had seen letters in the Gazette from Ilkley residents objecting to the removal of the second appliance.

Ilkley District Councillor Anne Hawkesworth said: "I think that Ilkley would be far better served if two engines remained. Short staffing is not a good enough reason to get rid of it.

"They should ensure that they get enough staff to run it."

But West Yorkshire Fire Service senior operations officer Paul Daly denied that the consultation had not taken into account the opposition in Ilkley to the move.

He said: "The chief fire officer is extremely conscious of the need to carry out this process to the letter of the law and would not do anything to compromise that."

Mr Daly said that the removal of the second engine was only official confirmation of a situation that had existed for the last 15 months because the appliance had not been operational.

He said that the decision to remove the fire engine now rested with the Home Office and it could be a matter of just weeks before an announcement is made.

"It is not taking anything away - it is just formalising the present situation," said Mr Daly.

Ilkley Parish Council chairman Michael Gibbons said: "I'm extremely disappointed with the reactions and we may look at making our own representation to the relevant department."

Sean Cahill, secretary of the West Yorkshire Fire Brigade Union, also denounced the decision.

He said: "If this was to become the norm, it will put a lot of other retained appliances under threat."