A COUNCILLOR claims the plan to axe full-time firefighters at a York fire station reveals the 'idiocy' of a decision made more than a decade ago.

Independent York councillor Dave Taylor was speaking out after North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Zoe Metcalfe, announced proposals to replace full-time firefighters with on-call part-timers at Huntington fire station.

She claimed there was currently more emergency response resource than required in York, and Huntington was the least used station in the area.

Cllr Taylor said the plan revealed the idiocy of moving full-timers there from York city centre in the first place.

"It was obvious back in 2011 that selling-off the city centre fire station and moving the full-time jobs to a location hidden on the ring-road would backfire," he said.

"Many people, including myself, and York Civic Trust, spoke against that misguided decision saying that the main fire station for York should be in the city centre, where the taller buildings and the timber-framed buildings are to be found, and from where the rescue boat could easily be launched for people in trouble on the river."

He said the suggestion Huntington was underused would be no surprise to people who said it was always the wrong location for York's main fire station.