A campaign has been launched to recruit on-call firefighters.

Silsden is among seven retained fire stations in West Yorkshire seeking new crew members.

On-call personnel are paid to work part-time on a standby system, sometimes as a second job.

At Silsden, the current 14-strong team includes a plumber, mechanic and a builder.

An event is being held at the fire station in Elliott Street on April 20, from 10am to noon, for anyone interested in learning more about the role.

Peter Hanson, local retained support officer and the Silsden crew manager, said: “It is a challenging and interesting job – you never know what you are going to be called out to next.

“There is also a tremendous team spirit, with everyone bringing different skills to the role.

“Each firefighter receives a retaining fee and gets paid for every turnout and the hours they work.”

The Silsden crew attends about 350 incidents a year, ranging from house fires and road accidents to moorland blazes.

It holds drill nights on Wednesdays, between 6.30pm and 9.30pm.

Mr Hanson, 29, who has been with the Silsden brigade for seven years and before that was a full-time firefighter at Keighley, said there was a minimum age of 18 for new recruits and they would undergo a fitness test.

They must be able to reach the fire station within five minutes of receiving a call.

Visit westyorksfire.gov.uk/-careers for further information. The deadline for applications is May 5.