A shortage of fire crew in Tywyn in Gwynedd has led to neighbouring Aberdyfi having to cover two towns.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said on social media that Tywyn fire station has struggled in recent months to get a crew to respond to incidents.

“The current situation has meant that we dual crew with Aberdyfi to be able to effectively attend incidents in the local area,” the Facebook post explains.

The situation has led to an appeal to the public to help.

“Can you help us? Can you form part of our crew?” the post continues.

Outlining what the life of an on call fire fighter is like, the post adds: “An on call fire fighter is a paid position working alongside your primary employment to respond to incidents in the area when a 999 call comes in.

“You will work on an alerter system so you go about your daily job and when the alerter sounds you respond to the station. On average we would be called once a week for around an hour.

“We drill for three hours per week on a Thursday evening 6.30pm-9.30pm where we conduct testing, learning and development. Outside of this you will attend specific courses to build your competency of the skills required.

“All your time working as a firefighter is paid, you will also receive a retaining fee per month to 'be available'.

“Your availability per week is organised on station drill nights and we have contracts from 30 to 120 hours per week.

“If you are self employed we would love to hear from you about how you could help us.

“If you are employed the first step is to ask your employer if they would be willing to allow you to respond during your working hours. If not don't worry you could still provide hours outside of this.”

A recruitment event will take place at Tywyn fire station on Thursday, 14 March from 6pm-9pm.

“Come along and see what we do, what the station and appliance look like, the skills you could acquire and the crew you could be a part of.”