A new multi-millioin pound fire station has been forced to close just a week after opening, according to a Facebook post.
Residents in Spelthorne were warned to stay safe after being told the station would not be open today (Saturday) due to insufficient staffing.
The post by Staines Station read: "Nearly 4 million pounds on a new, all singing, all dancing Fire Station that only opened last week, that Surrey Fire and Rescue Service cannot crew," reports Surrey Live .
The post has had more than 630 shares and hundreds of comments with people saying the closure was "appalling".
The fire station replaced both the Staines and Sunbury stations.
A separate screenshot posted online on Friday (August 30) outlined the expected crewing numbers for the counties stations over this month's final weekend, with the new two-pump station set to only have one firefighter on shift, as opposed to eight.
Following the closure of Staines and Sunbury, Surrey Fire Brigade's Union Secretary Lee Belsten spoke of his disappointment at the lack of a farewell to the stations.
He said: "Those stations have been open 40, 50, 60 years. We just wanted a formal ceremony to mark them closing. You would think they would get the chief down, have a parade and a bit of a community event just to say goodbye."
When proposed, the new station was set to have two fire engines available at all times, but hotly contested proposals from Surrey County Council (SCC) would see this decrease to one overnight, something the FBU says would put the public at risk - a claim the council has repeatedly denied.
Regarding the Fordbridge station, a Surrey Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) spokesman previously said: "Fordbridge is an optimal location for providing fire cover and replaces Staines and Sunbury fire stations.
"Fordbridge is contemporary, efficient and has training facilities that meet the needs of 21st century firefighters. An official event to mark the new fire station and its crews will take place in October 2019."
The Mirror has contacted SFRS for comment.
A decision on the future of Surrey's fire service is due to be taken in late September 2019. The consultation has now closed, but a petition to scrap the cuts can be found here .
