FEWER than one per cent of staff employed by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service belong to ethnic minorities.

The figure was revealed in an Audit Commission report into the fire service.

It showed that 0.6 per cent of firefighters were not white, and 0.9 per cent of total staff were of ethnic minority descent.

The national average for total staff is 3.4 per cent.

None of them were in the top five per cent of earners.

Steve McGuirk, chief fire officer, said: “The issue with equality remains, for us, one of our biggest challenges, especially in areas like Warrington and Halton where we have a small black and ethnic minority population.”

There are community outreach officers who work with different sectors of the black and ethnic minority community, he said.

The Audit Commission’s report also showed 17.8 per cent of those employed, and 5.2 per cent of firefighters, were women.

In August, the Cheshire service was awarded Level Three of the Local Government Equality Standard; an external assessment of equality and diversity, for which the service had to prove it had plans to address the under-representation of ethnic minority employees.

Last week’s report also showed that the service spends £44.08 per person in Cheshire; more than both the regional and national averages.

It also showed there were 9,529 incidents in 2008, which is almost 1,000 fewer than the national average.

The report praised the Cheshire service for its efficiency drives and use of smaller, midi fire engines.

It was deemed one of the top five most progressive services in the country, said Tony Hooton, Cheshire Fire Authority’s chairman councillor.

To find out more about the fire service, including how to join, visit: cheshirefire.co.uk