THE merger of fire control centres could mean 999 calls made in the North-East being answered at the opposite end of the country, it was claimed last night.

The Fire Brigades' Union (FBU) said a leaked Government report showed a "very high risk" of the plans ending in "total failure", putting lives at risk.

Ministers plan to close 49 control rooms across the UK and replace them with nine regional centres, partly designed to cope with the threat of terrorist attack.

The North-East is to be in the first wave of the changes, with a location for a new centre - intended to replace control rooms in Cleveland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear and Northumberland - to be announced next month.

Last night, the Government said the new system would provide a better and more efficient service, and to suggest otherwise was irresponsible.

But the FBU said the leaked report showed that:

* Staffing levels in the control rooms would be cut from 1,500 to 600

* These cuts were so severe that the system would routinely transfer calls away from controls that had reached saturation point, meaning that calls could be transferred to anywhere in England with spare capacity

* Council tax could be pushed up if the cost of the project overruns.

Rather than making savings, the new set-up could cost £754m and make a loss of £107m over the next ten years - figures that were being concealed from fire authorities, it said.

FBU general secretary Andy Gilchrist said: "This dangerous plan will axe all our excellent command and control centres and be a financial burden on the fire service and council tax payers for years to come.

"It's expensive, it's risky, it won't save a single life and could end in total failure."

Fire Service Minister Nick Raynsford said the union had quoted extracts from the report out of context and said the plans would lead to the replacement of outdated technology.

He said: "The new regional control centres are being designed to overcome shortcomings in the current system. Existing control rooms do a good job, but they are not designed to deal, in a co-ordinated fashion, with major regional or national incidents."

Richard Bull, chief fire officer with the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, said the FBU had been against the planned changes since day one.

He said: "There are still going to be considerable numbers of staff at these new centres who will be trained and qualified to deal with all situations.

"Provided the system is properly designed with the right specifications, it will be able to cope."

Mr Bull said he had no qualms about the possibility of calls being answered at opposite ends of the country, should it be necessary, and described the current set-up as akin to "tying bits of string together"