HUNDREDS of shopkeepers across York and North Yorkshire are being asked to throw their support behind The Press’s Fight The Fire Cuts campaign.

Outlets which sell the newspaper are being invited to display our petition on their counter, and encourage customers to sign up.

The move should enable The Press to gather a greater number of signatures in the relatively short amount of time available before York MP Hugh Bayley takes the petition to Westminster.

One newsagent which has agreed to display the petition is Maynews, in Jubbergate, near Newgate market.

Manager John Smith said he was very concerned about the Government’s proposals to increase North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service’s grant by only 0.5 per cent next year, and by the same amount in 2010/11.

“I am not happy about the proposals. Everything is cuts, cut, cuts, but we have to draw the line somewhere,” he said.

“The whole situation is diabolical. We haven’t needed the service here, apart from fire safety checks, but we want it to be available if it’s needed.”

With inflation currently running at more than five per cent, leaders of the county fire authority have warned that unless a better settlement is agreed, there will be massive repercussions for the service.

Vice-chairman Ken King has claimed it could lead to cuts in vital fire prevention work and advice, and while the authority would do its utmost to protect frontline services, it could not guarantee there would not be reductions in crewing levels and the number of fire engines.

The petition calls for a fairer grant settlement from the Government to ensure firefighters can continue to respond to fires and other emergencies, while also delivering a comprehensive fire prevention service.

Nine other fire authorities across England are facing the same below-inflation increase in funding as North Yorkshire. A delegation of MPs from each authority area will be taken by Mr Bayley to see the Fire Service Minister within the next month to press for a fairer settlement.