Fire and rescue service union say Boris Johnson should be 'ashamed' of his response to recent flooding

Fire and rescue service union leaders have criticised Prime Minister Boris Johnson's response to recent flooding as a 'shambles'.

The Fire Brigades Union say Mr Johnson should be 'ashamed' of the government's failure to plan for floods in the long-term.

Funding for fire and rescue services has been cut by £141.5m in England in the last four-year local government finance settlement.

That includes an £8.7m cut to the services covering areas with severe 'risk to life' flood warnings in the West Midlands.

Hereford and Worcester have had funding cut by £1.9m, as they faced severe flooding across the two counties from the River Wye in places such as Hereford, Ross and Hampton Bishop.

A Government spokeswoman said: "The Government has acted swiftly to support local areas affected by the recent storms and Environment Agency teams remain on the ground operating flood defences and supporting communities that have been affected by the severe weather.

"Fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work and overall will receive around £2.3billion in 2019/20."