FRONTLINE fire crews in Yorkshire want to halt the new 999 system.

They say they have little confidence in the Government's ability to create a new 999 call system which works well and say the plans should be halted.

The Fire Brigades Union claim that the £1billion the Government is spending on the system would be better spent on more frontline personnel, training and equipment.

The Government plans to close the 999 emergency fire control rooms covering Humberside, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire brigades.

They would be replaced with a single centre based at Wakefield, covering the whole region.

The new regional control is set to be fully operational by May 2011 and it will cost £33m over 20 years.

In a nationwide poll of FBU members conducted by YouGov, 96% of firefighters in Yorkshire said the proposed regional centre would damage the service's ability to respond to incidents. 95% said it would also hit the safety of firefighters.

FBU regional secretary Sean Cahill said: "Yorkshire and Humberside fire crews have almost no confidence in the Government's ability to deliver this new system and think it should be scrapped.

"This project is being forced down the throat of local fire services by a central government which thinks it knows what's best for local services.

"We see the mess Government is making of other major IT projects like tax credits and the NHS system and we don't want to see that happening in the fire service.

"These plans are already chaotic, years behind schedule and running over-budget.

"Frontline crews want to see money being wasted on this project being invested in more frontline fire services, better equipment and training.

"We fear the spiralling costs of this project will lead to cuts in frontline services and a worse service to the public.

"There must be a proper independent assessment of this entire project before it goes any further.

"The government must listen and think again."