HAMPSHIRE fire chiefs are still opposed to controversial new plans to create "super control rooms" spanning a region - despite it being welcomed nationwide.

An organisation made up of the country's top fire officers says it supports plans to replace 46 existing control rooms with just nine "super centres".

The Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers' Association said: "Larger fire control centres will enable significant investment in the latest technology and purpose-built, secure buildings."

The plan could see Hampshire's emergency room in Eastleigh replaced with a single complex covering a massive area from Buckinghamshire to Kent.

But Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service chief Malcolm Eastwood, charged with running one of the largest regional brigades in the country, remains bitterly opposed to the plans.

Fire service spokesman Mike Gates said: "Malcolm Eastwood is a member of CACFOA but within the organisation there are a spectrum of ideas.

"He has said we have to be sure the changes are an improvement on what we have already. We have to be sure that nine control rooms will operate as efficiently and productively as the ones we have at present. We have concerns over the security - these regional control centres would be a big target for terrorists and if one was taken out, it would be a long way to the next one.

"Also, local knowledge and local identification would be lost. We are not opposed to changes and progress because they involve change; we just have to be sure it is best."

Union chiefs have also slammed the regional control room proposals, saying they could lead to job losses.

Fire Brigades Union bosses say 40 control room staff in Hampshire could go under the plans.