TORIES took to the streets of Newton Abbot Abbot, Teignmouth and Kingsteignton with a petition calling for fairer funding of local fire services.

More than 600 people backed the campaign, which claims firefighters in Devon and Somerset manning 82 stations are allocated £18.16 per-head of population, compared with up to £34.50 a head in areas with fewer stations.

The disparity arises because sparsity of population is not recognised as a factor in government 'formula grant' calculations for fire and rescue services.

But it is a factor in education, social services and police funding.

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