The plans involve the replacement of the council’s older fleet vehicles, some of which are 25 years old and have ‘exceeded their life span’.

As part of the procurement process, the council is seeking to acquire eight new vehicles, costing a total of £800,000.

According to a spokesperson for West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, the new ‘modern off-road vehicles’ are ‘dual role wildfire, wade capable, off-road light pumping appliances which can be used for a range of emergency incidents’.

‘This spend has been budgeted for in our Fleet Capital Replacement Programme and agreed following the outcome of the Specialist Capability Review and approved through our governance process’, they added.

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