I AM the officer in charge of the retained fire station at Hythe.

I would like to assure residents of Hythe, Hardley and Ringwood that even though fire crews from these local retained stations have been deployed to other parts of the country to assist with the flooding, the fire appliances at these local stations are still being crewed 24 hours a day (as normal) in case of an emergency occuring in these local areas, by the remaining retained staff at these stations.

Retained crews are commited to providing emergency cover to their local communities, as well as assisting where they can at other emergencies either on a local,county or national level.

P GITTINGS, Hythe.