FRONTLINE firefighter jobs were axed yesterday in a £5m cost saving drive.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) confirmed the cuts were crucial to balance its books.

The fire authority narrowly voted through the measures, which will see 80 fewer firefighters. A further 36 uniform roles will be converted to civilian.

But grassroots firefighters lambasted the cuts and claim more lives will be put in danger.

The fire service was left with the £5m black hole in its budget after receiving just 1% more in government grants last year and 0.5% this year and next.

Pay settlements with staff were also above what they had hoped for. The cuts will hit the number of rank and file firefighters most, but numbers of officers will also decrease.

The cuts will be made by not replacing crew members when they leave the service or retire. MFRS insists there will be no compulsory redundancies.

A seventh station will also take on the controversial Low Level Activity Risk (LLAR) shift pattern.

Eccleston fire station has been earmarked for LLAR, which sees crews working 96-hour shifts but spending nights up to two minutes away from their station.

The number of surplus shifts built into the service's staff rota was also cut.

Mike Hagan, deputy chief fire officer for Merseyside, said last night: "The changes will have no effect on our emergency response times, which are some of the fastest in the country.

"We have been highly successful in the last decade in significantly reducing the number of fires and fire-related deaths and injuries and this work will continue."