POLICE and Fire Services in North Yorkshire should work more closely together, the organisations leaders have said.

Plans to collaborate further in York and North Yorkshire have been announced following a pilot project in which both services worked together on home fire safety and crime prevention visits to vulnerable people.

Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, and John Fort, chairman of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority (NYFRA), have signed a statement of intent to improve public safety, which would also mean the organisations share back room staff and support.

Mrs Mulligan said: “There is a real opportunity for both organisations to deliver services better through collaboration.

“Our police and fire services have already shown that they can achieve more together. We’re now saying ‘let’s be more innovative and ambitious and start bringing about real improvements to public safety’.”

Mr Fort said: “This is the start of an ambitious project that could deliver real benefits to the communities of York and North Yorkshire.”

A release from the PCC and NYFRA said closer collaboration would “generate efficiencies” that would help protect frontline services, while sharing staff such as HR, personnel, finance, Health and Safety, communications, IT, data management and legal services.