A PLAN to replace retained firefighters as first responders with unpaid volunteers in the Forest of Dean and across Gloucestershire has been labelled “bonkers”.

There are 33 “co-responders” across the county, including at Newent, Coleford and Lydney fire stations.

The South West Ambulance Service is shifting its focus to community responders, and once they have enough volunteers, they will phase out working with the fire service.

Matt Thomas, executive technical director at the ambulance trust, said the move is designed to provide the best volunteer response to patients.

He told Gloucestershire County Council’s health overview and scrutiny committee “Our goal is for people who are critically ill or injured to get a response to them as soon as possible,.”

Jane Whichello, head of volunteering and community service, added: “This is about replacing fire co-responders with another service that we believe provides a better and more cost effective model for unwell patients.”

But Cllr Paul Hodgkinson (Lib Dem, Bourton), the council’s Cabinet member responsible for the fire service, said: “I’m not convinced that the ambulance response times will get better as a result.

“I actually firmly believe that the fire service should still be involved. I think the decision is frankly bonkers, if I’m honest.”

He added: “Every time I look at the stats, the Cotswolds and other rural areas, the ambulance service has failed to meet the targets for response times, in some cases by miles.

“We’ve asked about it constantly, so I would have thought that when you are not providing the service that is required by the government and us, all those residents, that you would need all the help you can get.

“The public really do value public services working together, so they really value the fire service working with the ambulance service.

“Yet the ambulance service unilaterally says we don’t want to do this anymore.”