Fears have been raised about the future of fire cover in Wandsworth after it emerged London Fire Brigade (LFB) bosses were assessing whether it needed all of its fire engines.

The Fire Brigade Union’s (FBU) Wandsworth representative, Linda Smith, told the Wandsworth Guardian decision makers were “investigating removing 27 fire engines” from the service.

The capital’s firefighters have already conducted two eight hour strikes in response to a dispute about changes to start and finish times - and the latest move by brigade bosses has angered them further.

London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson and LFB management recalled 27 engines to be used as cover during the strikes - one of which came from Tooting - and firefighters are now unsure whether they will be returned.

Ms Smith said: “The one that was removed from Tooting is still missing at the moment.

“We are furious, absolutely furious that they told bare-faced lies.

“They told us this was just about changes to the shifts and not about cuts.”

She added the impact of axing engines from the current roster would affect attendance times and mean “fire cover is spread a lot thinner”.

An LFB spokeswoman said: “At a meeting of the finance and personnel committee, held on November 8, the chairman and leader of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Councillor Brian Coleman, verbally moved an amendment for the commissioner to explore - as part of the budget process - and report back to the committee on whether the brigade needs all 27 of the fire appliances removed from stations during the current industrial action to be returned and whether there is an over-supply of appliances.”