A GOVERNMENT minister has promised to look into the possibility of securing more cash for firefighters in County Durham and Darlington.

Minister for the Fire Service, Dr Alan Whitehead, met Easington MP John Cummings at the opening of Peterlee's new community fire station on Wednesday.

They discussed the national funding formula which Mr Cummings and other North-East MPs believe is leaving the county seriously disadvantaged.

County Durham and Darlington Fire Authority has introduced a range of measures to reduce blaze deaths and injuries in line with Government directives, but its success has led to a reduction in the funding it receives.

Mr Cummings said: "The minister is now aware of the incontrovertible evidence that there are areas in the county which figure very highly in the indices of multiple deprivation and require increased activity by the fire brigade.

"We asked the minister to include that information in the funding formula in the further and he assured us he would be having detailed discussions with his team when he returns to London."

The £1m Peterlee fire station is the first in the North-East to be both a fire station and a community fire safety centre, where the public can receive fire safety education.

Dr Whitehead said: "Often the public's perception of fire stations is that there are no facilities inside for them, but the local fire station should be a welcoming place for the community at large."

He met senior fire officers and toured the new station before travelling to South Shields to open Tyne and Wear Fire Brigade's new community fire station.