A fire engine was left unmanned this weekend because a firefighter was sick.

Watford Fire Station in Lower High Street was unable to use one of its two fire engines on Saturday and Sunday - sparking concern from the Fire Brigade Union.

But the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service hit back, saying it was only temporarily left with insufficient crew.

Darryl Keen, chief fire officer, said: “The second engine at Watford Fire Station was unavailable for the two day-shift periods over last weekend.

“This was the result of short term sickness, meaning that insufficient crew were available.

“Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue (HFRS) has a clear policy around how to manage short term crewing deficiencies and this was applied for both shifts.

“It is worth noting that the appliance was available overnight on both nights as crewing for the night-shift was sufficient to do so.”

Mr Keen added how the service has experienced shortages, due to a number of retirements and staff moving on.

However, he said new full-time firefighters will be recruited to help solve this.

He added: “HFRS is currently recruiting for new full time firefighters because the service has seen a number of retirements and staff moves to other services or other jobs.

“This is a continuous cycle and we do not believe that this weekend is a symptom of a significant crewing problem. It is already being addressed through the recruitment process.”

But the FBU claim the weekend shortage is an example of low numbers throughout Hertfordshire and firefighters have been propping up shortages by working on their days off.

Brigade secretary Daren Scotchford said: “The Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has been running very short of numbers for some time now.

“This was only ever a sticking plaster which relied largely on the goodwill of our members.

“The time has come for the county council and central government to fund HFRS properly.

"We are constantly told how valued we are by our elected leaders; the time for words is over; action is required; investment is required.

“The people of Hertfordshire deserve nothing less.”