A proposal to axe Haworth’s retained fire station as part of a massive shake-up of fire service cover has sparked fears over public safety.

The threat to the facility in Station Road, which is manned by a part-time crew, was revealed earlier this week.

Councillor John Huxley, chairman of Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury Parish Council, said: “We think they’re taking a hell of a risk with lots of people’s lives.

“The Haworth station doesn’t just serve Haworth – it serves the Worth Valley. I’m going to be raising this at the next parish council meeting.”

The parish council’s vice chairman, Councillor Peter Hill, said he would hate to see the fire station closed down.

He added: “When all this first came up, I spoke to the fire service about it and they said Haworth would not be affected – but of course, things do change.”

Commenting on the safety implications of any closure, he said: “We do have Keighley fire station, which is only five or six minutes away, but that could be a vital five or six minutes.”

The Yorkshire Fire Brigade Union (FBU) said “savage” Government cuts of about £12 million to the West Yorkshire brigade’s budget over the next two years have led to fire chiefs drawing up proposals to scale-back cover at stations across the Bradford district.

Under the plans, Shipley and Idle stations would also be closed and their crews merged at a new fire station at a location still to be disclosed.

There will also be a reduction in the number of appliances from two to one at Fairweather Green and Odsal stations in Bradford.

Pete Smith, FBU regional secretary for Yorkshire and Humberside, said the proposed shake-up, which will be put before a meeting of West Yorkshire Fire Authority next month, would be “detrimental to public and firefighter safety”.

“Unfortunately, they are prepared to put lives at risk just to make some cuts to suit the coalition Government,” he said.

Stephen Hardy, a fire service spokesman, said the plans were put forward as part of the service’s integrated risk management planning process to review fire cover.

Following a similar review last year, the decision was taken to replace ten fire stations with five new stations – with the loss of 135 front-line firefighters.

As part of the latest proposals, a back-up fire engine will remain at Silsden. However, since it has been based there, the ‘resilience pump’ has been sent to Keighley and Halifax in April and May – effectively leaving Silsden with one appliance.

Craven ward councillor, Adrian Naylor, said a lack of cover for Silsden would lead to “unacceptable” delays in crews reaching fires in the area.

Mr Hardy said the public would be consulted, if necessary, on the proposed changes between September and December, following the next authority meeting on September 7.