SALISBURY fire station will be holding a ‘have a go’ event on October 22 to encourage women and other under-represented parts of the community to consider becoming firefighters.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service will be offering a hands-on experience to give people an insight into this exciting job.

Their aim is to remove any barriers that might deter women and ethnic minorities from applying.

Group manager Karen hopes this event will spread awareness and encourage people to give it a try.

She said: “By running these events, we’re saying to all parts of our community that being a firefighter can be a career choice for anyone

"Nationally the fire and rescue service is 95 per cent male and 96 per cent white.”

She added: “The main aim is to give people the opportunity to ‘have a go’ at using our equipment and doing some of the tests that form part of the application process.

"Being a firefighter is a physical role and we know that a lot of people don’t apply because they don’t think they can meet the requirements, so we want to dispel some myths and also help potential applicants to understand what is needed."

The fire station will be running six events from 10am-1pm during October, ahead of recruitment opening on November 6.

Anyone interested in attending are encouraged to bring suitable PT kit so they can try some of the physical tests.