CHESHIRE Fire and Rescue Service has gained national recognition for its commitment to equality and diversity.

The service was one of the first in the country to achieve level three of the Local Government Equality Standard through a rigorous external assessment process.

“I am delighted that we have achieved this standard – it is a clear recognition of the hard work put in by staff at all levels to ensure we consider equality issues in everything we do,” said chief fire officer Steve McGuirk,

He added: “We have made excellent progress over the last couple of years but there is still more to do and our objective is to aim for excellence and achieve level five of the Standard.”