COUNTY fire chief Darran Gunter has been selected to head up the new combined Dorset and Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service.

Mr Gunter, pictured, was appointed chief fire officer designate for the combined service following a selection process involving members of both county brigades.

The new combined fire authority, agreed in a bid to ensure financial solvency and maintain frontline services in both counties, will come into effect in April 2016.

A £5.54million grant supporting the merger has already been secured from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

Following his appointment, Mr Gunter said: “Our combination is by far the most complex and challenging change programme that both services have embarked on.

“We are determined to protect and where possible strengthen frontline services and I feel privileged and very proud to work with two such fire and rescue services.”

Wiltshire fire chief Simon Routh-Jones will continue to work with Mr Gunter ‘to support the process to its conclusion’, said Wiltshire & Swindon Fire Authority chairman Councillor Chris Devine and Dorset Fire Authority chairman Cllr Rebecca Knox.

Although the merger will protect frontline services, at least 20 ‘back room’ jobs are expected to be lost.

Mr Gunter said: “I am extremely grateful for the continued support from Simon Routh-Jones and the team of members and staff from both services.”

Cllrs Devine and Knox added: “Darran will continue working closely with elected members on the joint committee overseeing the combination, and staff in both Wiltshire and Dorset, to create a new organisation, its vision, and its strategies and priorities.

“We are very grateful to Simon Routh-Jones who has been instrumental in the combination strategy, and we would like to thank him for all he has done in getting the project to this stage.”