Firefighters could not believe their eyes when an appliance sped past them to a blaze they were much closer to.

The turntable ladder, based at Preston Circus station, in Brighton, was on the way to a fire in Foredown Road, Portslade, on Sunday.

The crew drove past Hove fire station in English Close, which is seconds away from the scene of the blaze.

Hove, too, has a turntable ladder appliance but it sat idle.

The Fire Brigades Union said it potentially risked lives because of the extra time taken for the appliance to reach the scene.

Jim Parrott, union secretary for East Sussex, said: "It was a political decision which deprived the city of fire cover and is just plain stupid."

The decision was based on East Sussex Fire Authority's new Integrated Risk Management Plan introduced on April 1.

It means the Preston Circus turntable ladder covers the whole city and only fire chiefs at the scene can call it in.

It and the Hove turntable ladder would be sent out automatically to incidents only between 9pm and 6am.

The Hove appliance would still be called out for major emergencies.

A spokeswoman for the authority said the idea behind the plan was to free up Hove officers to work in their fire safety vehicle, touring the city to prevent blazes.

She said: "This aspect of our work is becoming more and more important."

Hove firefighters led 12 people to safety after the arson attack at the four-storey Parker Court in Foredown Road.