The county's fire service has been praised by inspectors for how it has kept the public and residents safe during the pandemic.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has also praised the way Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has supported key partners throughout.

The local service was inspected in October 2020 as part of an inspection into how fire and rescue services were responding to Covid-19.

In an official letter received on Friday (22 January) the inspectors praised Essex firefighters and staff for being well prepared, the support the service offered to partners, maintenance of its core services and putting the welfare of its staff at the heart of decisions and activities.

Essex Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive Jo Turton said: "I'm really pleased that we received some excellent feedback from the inspectorate.

"We continually work to reassure our public that regardless of what is happening we will always be there for them in an emergency. We're also so passionate about our prevention work and know this is a priority to keeping people safe in their homes.

"This report echoes this message and highlights how we manage to do this in a way that keeps our people safe throughout a global pandemic.

"The overwhelming feeling I got when reading this was that the inspectors spoke of a service that I recognise, and a service that I am incredibly proud to be a part of."

Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: "There's some really positive feedback from this inspection that echoes what I've seen the service deliver during this pandemic.

"The inspectorate's findings reflect the service's hard work and the culture we now have. I am incredibly proud of our fire service as are the residents of Essex. Feedback from our regular public engagement meetings has been nothing but praise."