WILTSHIRE fire brigade is launching a recruiting drive to find volunteers to become retained firefighters in Malmesbury and Cricklade.

The brigade is holding an open evening at the fire station in Cricklade on Monday 8, June at 7pm and another at Malmesbury fire station on Wednesday 10, June.

Malmesbury retained firefighter Jo Evans said more recruits were needed to provide day cover.

She said: "We are trying to recruit people to give us some day cover. The open evenings will give an opportunity for people who are interested in becoming a firefighter or not sure what the first steps are."

Volunteers must be 18 or over and will need to be on call between 8am and 5pm but Ms Evans said that there was some flexibility.

"The more retained firefighters we have the more flexible we can be," she said.

Firefighters need to be physically fit and Ms Evans said the open evenings would give potential recruits an indication of the required standards the fire brigade expect.

In return part time fire fighters get annual retaining fee and extra income when they are called out to an emergency or on training.

Ms Evans said the job was exciting and good fun as well as hard work.

"You are part of the community and we have a laugh," she said.

"When you are on call you can be called out to anything road traffic accident, house fire, or person trapped.

There is also a great sense of achievement when a job is done well."