HOVE firefighters hope to get back to pole position and reclaim their world record in a blaze of glory.

Green watch firefighters at Hove Community Fire Station are gearing up for a world record pole drop in a bid to reclaim their title of best in the world.

The firefighters are aiming to climb up and slide down nearly 7,000 metres of pole in an hour at a fundraising event on Saturday March 19 at Churchill Square in Brighton.

The crew, which are currently in training for the event, aim to regain the world record they set back in 2009 and raise buckets full of cash for the Firefighters Charity and Rockinghorse children’s charity.

With a match funding agreement in place to double any donations, it is hoped that £10,000 can be raised for each charity.

The team lost their record two years ago when Uckfield red watch firefighters managed to slide 6,188 metres in 60 minutes to beat the previous record by almost a kilometre.

The Hove team want to use the record attempt to mark the end of the era for the team which is set to lose 24 firefighters and an engine in April in cuts totalling £932,000.

Hove firefighter Darren Eaton said: "We have a change of establishment on station at the end of March and we want to go out in style getting back our world record before we go our separate ways upholding our continued good work we undertake for charity.

“We have match funding in place, which enables individuals’ donations to charities to be doubled, so would like to raise an enormous amount of money for the two fantastic charities.

“We want the public to turn out in their thousands to support us, cheer us on and donate whatever they can, as it is gonna be a great family day.

“Whilst it is important to keep fit for our jobs, we have definitely upped our training for the big event.

“Each day on duty we spend an hour coming down our fire pole on station and running back up the stairs.”

To donate text HOVE92, followed by the amount for example: £5 to 70070.