A SMALLER fire engine is being ordered to fit through the narrow streets of Brighton and Hove.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service is buying a smaller vehicle to better serve the city after a series of incidents where their engines have had difficulty navigating the car-packed streets.

The revelation comes after crews could not get their appliance  to a house fire in Luther Mews over the weekend in which one man was taken to hospital.

Five fire engines from across the city attended the scene in which a terraced house was nearly gutted as firefighters negotiated parked cars in the narrow street.

Crews had to run on foot to the scene and abandon their fire engine to tackle the blaze, which broke out at 8.30am on Sunday.

A man at the scene was treated for burns and smoke inhalation and it took the firefighters an hour to get the fire under control.

Mark Matthews, borough commander for the city, said areas of Brighton and Hove such as Hanover, Lewes Road, and Kemp Town can represent “real challenges regarding access”.

He said: “As an emergency service we are committed to providing lifesaving services as quickly as possible and therefore a timely response is crucial and we therefore ask that the public pay particular attention to parking restrictions in these areas as the restrictions are partly in place to secure this vital access of emergency services.

“East Sussex Fire Authority is considering how vehicles can be designed to ensure effective deployment in areas of restricted access and have taken the decision to purchase a narrower fire appliance next year that will be stationed in the Brighton and Hove area as part of the replacement programme that should go some way to improve the situation further."

Across the border, last year Kent Fire and Rescue Service revealed plans to purchase 29 smaller fire engines to better negotiate busy roads and residential streets.

The new slimmer engines weighed in about 12 tonnes, compared to 16 tonnes for a full-sized fire engine and are considerably narrower.