An outgoing fire chief has warned £1.7m in proposed cuts are untenable decisions – but things are going to get worse if the government does not give the service more money.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service chief fire officer Neil Odin has warned the cuts, which would see a total of 24 job losses and £1.7m in cuts in a year, is “doable, but it is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to challenging times for the future”.

The decision to make the cuts was delayed at a meeting last week to allow time to try to find the additional funding.