7,000 apply for just 50 firefighter jobs

SEVEN thousand people have applied for just 50 jobs as firefighters.

It is the first time for three years that West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service has recruited.

The deadline for applications for the jobs, which attract a £21,000-a-year starting salary, is Wednesday.

David Johnson, director of human resources, told us: "We were expecting a massive amount of interest and that’s just what we’ve had."

Chairman Coun John Edwards added: "The level of interest has been phenomenal.

"Our firefighters are held in the highest regard by the communities they keep safe and we have thousands of people wanting to join them."

The service is having to cut £21million from its budget but insisted it needed the new recruits to keep all stations open and to maintain the five minute target of responding to life-threatening 999 calls.