Response times to serious fires in Epsom are set to double, after councillors approved plans to remove one of the borough’s fire engines yesterday.

At a meeting of Surrey County Council’s cabinet, councillors gave the green light to proposals to relocate a fire engine from Epsom to Burgh Heath by 2014 - a move which would nearly double the average time it would take for firefighters to start treating a serious fire in the town.

Under the plans, a new fire station will be created at Burgh Heath and another in Salfords, south of Redhill.

A document stating the reasons for the approval said it would "mitigate the impact of changes at Horley as a result of the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Authority’s decision to withdraw their fire engine" and improve the fire service provision and fire engine response coverage across Surrey - the latter of which has been "measured through modelling analysis and performance data".

What are your views on Epsom losing a fire engine?  Leave a comment below or email Hardeep Matharu on the newsdesk: hmatharu@london.newsquest.co.uk.