ONE of two online petitions against the downgrading of the Falmouth and Camborne fire stations was handing in to Cornwall county council yesterday.

The first petition was set up in January by the Truro and Falmouth Labour Party against plans to close the only two stations in Cornwall that still provide 24 hour cover.

Lesley Trenchard, who is Labour's candidate for Falmouth town council and Carrick district council in the Boslowick ward, was one of many people who signed the petition.

She said "Falmouth fire station covers the docks as well as thousands of homes. These proposals put lives and jobs at risk. It's vital this petition makes the powers that be think again."

Handing in the petition at County Hall in Truro, to the formal consultation which closed yesterday (Tuesday April 10), local campaigner Charlotte MacKenzie said: "We are deeply concerned that the proposed changes to night cover at Falmouth Fire Station would slow down response times after 6pm for all call outs to Falmouth docks, fires at sea, large hotel fires, fires at home, and to Penryn, where the local fire station closure was linked to availability of the 24 hour fire station at Falmouth."

But there is also another petition which is still running on the Prime Minister's website also against the proposed cuts to the fire service.

So far 175 people have signed the online petition in an attempt to stop the downgrading of Falmouth and Camborne fire stations.

If anyone would like to sign the petition they should log onto http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/CCFBFireStations/ The formal consultation process will began in January and will ended yesterday. The full executive of the county council will make a final decision on June 19.