Fire stations will inevitably close if voters back an elected assembly and a single fire authority for the entire North-East, MPs were warned today.

But Richard Bull, chief fire officer for Tyne and Wear, insisted the closures should be welcomed because many stations dated from up to 80 years ago and were "in the wrong place".

The fire chief was giving evidence to a Commons committee examining the implications of the draft regional assemblies Bill, paving the way for the elected body.

One of those implications is the creation of a single North-East fire authority, with the merger of the separate bodies for Tyne and Wear, Cleveland, Durham and Northumberland.

In evidence to the office of the deputy prime minister select committee, Mr Bull said the move promised significant savings within three to seven years.

But he said: "It means bringing together four fire authorities that have been there since 1974 and some have stations going back to the 1920s.

"In the 1920s they were in the right locations. But there is now less fire risk in city centre locations which are well protected with sprinklers and automatic fire protection.

"It will mean looking at where these stations are and moving them to different locations."

Mr Bull stressed that, to some extent, the process was already underway with the creation of regional control rooms across fire authority boundaries.

The government is widely believed to back a regional fire structure, even if North-East voters reject an elected assembly, because of likely cost savings and possible service improvements.

But the Local Government Authority, which represents local councils, opposes mega-authorities, believing the set-up will create a "democratic deficit".

The work of each of the four North-East authorities is currently overseen by a committee of around 18 councillors and officers. A regional authority would have a single committee.