Fire chiefs had to call in back-up from 50 miles away amid huge blaze after budget cuts left town without key equipment

FIRE chiefs had to call in back-up from an hour away after specialist kit was axed in budget cuts.

A high-reach appliance was sent to a town 50 miles away to assist.

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But sources revealed this left the whole of Lanarkshire without cover — while an MSP warned lives are being put at risk.

The alarming incident came in December after firefighters raced to the Old Factory Shop in Ayr — where the town’s station was last year stripped of its high-reach device.

Bosses scrambled one from nearby Kilmarnock.

But when another was needed, it had to come from 47 miles away, in Coatbridge.

Last night Tory shadow justice spokeswoman Sharon Dowey said: “This was the consequence of the SNP starving our fire service of vital funding.

“It’s only a matter of time before knock-on delays lead to avoidable death.”

At last September’s inferno at the Station Hotel, Ayr, a high-reach engine was summoned from Glasgow.

Garry Mackay, SFRS’s deputy assistant chief officer, said: “Our operations control staff have the flexibility to mobilise the most appropriate type of resource to any emergency incident.

“This incident was brought to a safe and effective conclusion.”