PEOPLE living in the average sized house will be paying an extra 3p a week to fund fire and rescue services.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority has agreed to increase its council tax precept by 1.99% to £78.42 for a Band D property in the year from April.

Authority chairman Cllr Mark Healey said the service has seen its Government funding drop by a total of £8.7million since 2012/13, the third worst settlement in the country.

He added: “The authority is very concerned as to the disproportionate impact that a standard approach to cuts across the board is having on more rural fire and rescue services such as ours.

“We continue to ask Government to consider better supporting fire services like ours, which has the largest number of fire stations and fire engines outside of London.

“We recognise there is less money to go round and the chief fire officer will continue to use the resources at his disposal to best protect the public.”

Avon and Somerset Police have already announced they are increasing council tax demands by 1.99%, while Somerset County Council and Taunton Deane Council have frozen their bills.