ESSEX firefighters insist they have the public’s support as they continue to hold strike action in protest at proposed job cuts.

Fire Brigades Union members are walking out from 9am to 6pm today and will take further action on Friday.

The union claims Essex County Fire and Rescue bosses are not being honest about the impact cuts will have on the service delivered to the public.

It believes the service’s 2020 long-term plan could see a quarter of all frontline jobs slashed.

Riccardo la Torre, FBU Essex brigade chairman, said: “It’s clear from the responses we are getting that the Essex public are fully behind our campaign.

“They realise the more you keep cutting the number of firefighters, fire engines and equipment the greater the risks of people paying for it with their lives.

“Fewer firefighters mean slower responses to 999 calls. In our life-saving service every second can mean the difference between life and death.”

“Over the past decade Essex has suffered a 17.5 per cent cut in the number of full time firefighters.

“Now they want to go even further. If these cuts go through, the fire and rescue service in Essex will be decimated.”

In its consultation for the 2020 plan, fire chiefs claim the amount of emergency call-outs in Essex has halved in the last decade.

Acting chief fire officer Adam Eckley said: “The action is unjustified, unnecessary and pre-emptive “No decisions have been made about the future size or structure of the service and decisions will not be made until spring 2016.”