Figures released by the Fire Brigades Union have shone a light on the scale of cuts to full-time firefighter numbers across the UK over the past eight years.

Out of the 11,854 cuts nationwide between 2010 and 2018, Scotland has received more than 1,000 cuts to these positions and more than 500 in the last year.

Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie said the cuts have the potential to put lives on the line, especially in the wake of disasters such as Grenfell Tower, the Glasgow School of Art, and locally Cameron House.

She said: “Firefighters are an integral part of our emergency service, they provide a range of services to keep the public safe. We simply cannot sustain the level of cuts that we have been experiencing.

“People across the country hold firefighters in high regard. The fire fighters in Helensburgh, Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven are our local heroes, risking their lives to keep us safe. They deserve our support.

“The major incidents at Grenfell Tower and the Glasgow School of Art show just how vital our fire service is. It is time this Scottish Government recognised just how important this service is and funded it properly.”

Conservative West of Scotland MSP Maurice Corry said: “The fire service, along with our other emergency services, provide a hugely important service within our communities.

“This is highlighted further after major incidents, such as the fire at Cameron House, but the service provides many other services which we don’t always see or hear about.

“The need for personnel to be available to respond to an emergency is crucial, along with their duties carrying out safety inspections and home visits.

“Are these cuts, which potentially risk lives, really necessary when the SNP government has underspent so vastly in the past year?”

Iain Bushell, deputy chief officer of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said: “The SFRS has the right resources, in the right place – at the right time.

“We are very much focused on proven outcomes; for example our prevention efforts have seen fires falling by more than 40 per cent in the last decade.”

“We continue to attend at every emergency and we are fully committed to investing in the ongoing safety of Scotland’s communities.”