Avon Fire and Rescue Service (AFRS) is planning to stop responding to the majority of automatic fire alarms (AFAs).

The plans come as the service revealed the shocking number of false alarms they are attending.

Although there is no legal requirement to attend AFAs firefighters currently respond to them unless they are called to confirm it’s a false alarm.

If the proposals laid out in the draft service plan go ahead, only alarms at sleeping risk and high-risk buildings will receive a response.

Between 2012 and 2017, 51 per cent of calls received by AFRS were due to false alarms, around 4,131 incidents a year.

Mick Crennell, chief fire officer for AFRS, said: “If you were to ask people to describe the work of firefighters, most people would probably talk about us fighting fires and possibly dealing with road traffic collisions.

"In fact, the Service is attending a high level of false alarm calls that are providing a large drain on our resources, taking firefighters away from lifesaving activities."

Other proposals include changing the way they prioritise emergency responses.

This would be based on risk rather than population density with the aim that 'the most serious incidents receive, on average, the fastest response'.

The draft service plan will be delivered against a 'backdrop of financial pressures and increasing demand for public services'.

Savings totalling £746,000 have been identified for 2019/20.

The draft service plan is subject to public consultation. To have your say go to: surveymonkey.co.uk/r/C89WHNS.