UNION chiefs plan to lobby top fire brigade management in a bid to stamp out plans to create a super control room covering nine counties.

Fire Brigades Union bosses will gather outside this month's decision-making Fire Authority meeting to persuade members that regionalisation would mean job losses and a weaker service.

They want the Fire Authority's 25 members to sign the petition entitled Say No to Regionalisation of our Control.

FBU spokesman Roy Goring said: "The FBU is against it, firefighters are against it and if the Fire Authority agree, the plan has to be re-thought. Regionalisation of control rooms is going to be the first stage of regional fire services. That means job losses. But more than that, it's going to mean a worse service where lives will be lost, there's no question of that."

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister wants to see Hampshire's existing control room in Eastleigh replaced by a super centre, covering a massive area from Buckinghamshire to Kent.

Nationally, 49 control rooms would be replaced with just nine - and the south east would handle an estimated 129,000 incidents a year.

The union claims the new set-up would boost the risk of terrorist attacks on control rooms and would jeopardise response times, as people with scant local knowledge answer emergency calls.

Already more than 700 people have signed up to the FBU's online petition, at www.hantsfbu.org.uk.

Even Malcolm Eastwood, Hampshire Chief Fire Officer, has flown in the face of other fire bosses and spoken out against the proposals. Mr Goring added: "The fire brigade is under the control of the Fire Authority members, and if they are against the plans, something has to be done."

The lobby will be at 9am on May 26, outside Eastleigh's council chamber.