More than 200 jobs will go as part of the latest proposals from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.

But in Andover the number of on-call fire fighters will increase from 12 to 13, and the second of the town's two trucks will be replaced with an intermediate vehicle and a first response vehicle.

After several months of speaking to the public, fire chiefs have put forward their proposals for the future of the service.

They include the introduction of newer vehicles, technology and equipment to help them deal with life-or-death situations.

Although no stations will be closed, 215 posts are set to be lost across the county over the coming three or four years.

Deputy chief office of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service Neil Odin said the changes would be lost through "natural wastage" but promised there would be "no compulsory redundancies".

Speaking at a press briefing at the fire service's headquarters in Eastleigh, he said: "We've got the time span to implement these changes. We've worked out the profile of our employees. We can do [these changes] through natural wastage."

He added there could be the possibility of "recruiting new members" to keep stations.

He said it will "save money" by making these changes as the number of fires has reduced by 50% over the last decade.

But the secretary of the Hampshire Fire Brigade Union, Gary Jackson, did not lend his support to the proposals and said "the devil was in the detail".   

He said: "Yes, we've had 50 per cent fewer fires, but those fires aren't 50 per cent smaller."

The proposals will be put forward to Hampshire Fire Authority who will vote upon them on Wednesday September 9 before allowing the public to have further say.