Fury as fire brigades spend £17k on decorating engines in LGBT rainbow colours
3 September 2022, 09:36 | Updated: 3 September 2022, 09:52
Fire brigades across the country have faced a backlash from Brits after it was revealed that £17,000 of taxpayer money has been spent on decorating engines in LGBT rainbow colours.
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Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service spent £4,320 while the Dorset and Wiltshire service paid out £3,390 to make the changes, according to The Sun.
In Suffolk, £2,284 was spent on a design incorporating a rainbow.
Meanwhile, another £35,000 was spent across the country on rainbow merchandise such as flags.
The move was made as part of an inclusivity and recruitment drive since 2017, several brigades said.
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However, Tom Ryan from the TaxPayers’ Alliance told the paper: "Taxpayers are being ripped off in the rush to be right-on.
"Fire chiefs must realise that expensive rainbow wrappings do nothing to deliver the heroic life-saving services that everyone relies on.
"Their focus should be on fighting fires not culture wars."
One person tweeted: "What's the world coming to when we have woke firemen!!"
Another Twitter user said: "Always underfunded hey? Shocking waste of money much in the same way the police just chuck money away too.
"Those who make these decisions should pay for them by losing their jobs."
A third person added: "What a joke."
Oxfordshire County Council told the paper redecorating one of its older vehicles helped the service towards its "equality, diversity and inclusion" objectives.
Dorset and Wiltshire said rainbow colours were chosen "to promote inclusivity".
And Suffolk Fire and Rescue said the move was a "relatively cheap way to advertise".
