A UNION has criticised the retirement of a Humberside fire chief less than a month after he was given a temporary promotion which increased his settlement.

Mark Rhodes, who spent two months in the role of assistant chief officer with Humberside Fire & Rescue Service, will retire on Monday with a gross lump sum of £265,666.75 and an annual pension of £36,028.94.

The settlement for the 50-year-old, who has spent 32 years with the service, has increased by £29,500 because he took on the more senior role for eight weeks earlier this year. The changes to posts were sanctioned by Humberside Fire Authority.

Pete Smith, Yorkshire and Humberside regional secretary for the Fire Brigades’ Union, said the service had shed 220 jobs since 2005.

He said: “The people on the frontline who are suffering the cuts in the service have seen positions disappear without any explanation of what they get out of this.

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow and it’s not very good for morale at stations when they see this sort of thing happening.”

In a statement, the service said the temporary appointments for Mr Rhodes and three other senior officers were due to “uncertainty” surrounding a national review of fire services and the need to prepare for the retirement of former chief fire officer Frank Duffield on April 30, saying: “The outcomes of this review could potentially have resulted in major changes to the current service.”