LANCASHIRE's top fireman has pledged that a new fire station being built to serve Hyndburn will cut response times and save lives.

And chief fire officer Peter Holland says the station, due for completion early next year, is long overdue.

The new station is being built in Hyndburn Road, Church.

When it is opened the existing stations in Manchester Road, Accrington, and Union Road, Oswaldtwistle will be closed.

"Our fire crews in Accrington and Oswaldtwistle already do a brilliant job protecting their communities but this new station is long overdue," said Mr Holland.

"It will maintain their ability to get to emergencies in as short a time as possible.

"Modern volumes of traffic and new road networks, that were not envisaged when the existing stations were built, make it necessary to keep pace with change to ensure that standards of fire cover are maintained or improved.

" In Oswaldtwistle, for example, relocating the fire engine and crews to the new premises will cut existing response times by at least two minutes which is an immense saving which can save lives," he added.

Oswaldtwistle's 11 retained firefighters will relocate to the new station as long as they can meet the required turnout time.

The new station is being built through a private/public partnership involving the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority and the Carden Croft Consortium.

Carden Croft will pay for the construction of the building and the fire authority will rent it back.

Work is due to start in April.