A fire station is so strapped for recruits it has been unable to send crews to emergencies. Keymer fire station has now launched a recruitment drive.

Firefighter Trevor Davey, who works at the station, near Hassocks, said he did not want to give exact details of which emergencies they had been unable to attend in recent weeks.

But he said: "I'm quite happy to put my head on the block by talking about it because I've been on and on about the problem."

Keymer is a retained fire station, which means its firefighters are not full-time but live or work in the area and can be called at any time. It receives an average of five calls a week and retained staff have to drop whatever they are doing and rush to the fire station.

Retained firefighters for Keymer are paid for each call they attend.

Last year, Keymer crews were called to 261 incidents, which meant each firefighter could have earned up to £5,000.

The crews are trained to the same standard as full-time firefighters.

They attend larger fires as well as smaller incidents such as chimney fires or garden bonfires.

In May, Keymer was one of six appliances to attend the Alldays convenience store fire in Maple Drive, Burgess Hill, and was also called in to help with recent floods.

Mr Davey, who works in finance and marketing from his home just three doors away from the station, said: "With people going on holiday, summer is another peak time for shortages."

Women are welcome in the service and Keymer has one female firefighter.

All stations in East and West Sussex accept retained firefighters and recruits should be between 18 and 55, have a good level of fitness and employers who will allow them to leave their job to attend an incident.

If you live or work in the Keymer, Ditchling, Hassocks or Clayton areas and want to join the Keymer crews contact Mr Davey on 01273 843319.

Anyone else interested in becoming a recruit for other stations should call East Sussex Fire Service on 01273 472462 or West Sussex on 01243 752448.