The fire service is facing a £389m bill to get vehicles and properties up to scratch, a report has warned.

Audit Scotland said the backlog facing the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) was “insurmountable” without further transformation and investment.

Auditors said that if capital spending remains at 2017/18 levels, the backlog will reach £406m over the next ten years, and warned that “the risk of asset failures, such as vehicle breakdowns, will increase significantly”.

The national fire service was formed by the merger of eight regional services in 2013.

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An SFRS spokeswoman said: “We clearly inherited a substantial capital and maintenance backlog from the eight legacy services.

“We are moving to address this backlog and modernise our service, and have invested around £94m in our property, vehicle fleet and other assets since our national service launched in 2013.

“We have improved vehicle maintenance schedules in many areas which is supported to the very highest possible standards by our teams at Dundee, Inverness, Glasgow and Edinburgh.”

The report praised the service’s slow but steady progress with integrating the eight former services into a single body and strong financial management.

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It said the SFRS was now in a good position to complete the process with a deal to harmonise firefighters’ pay and conditions.

SFRS chief officer Alasdair Hay said: “This report recognises our commitment to putting in place the necessary operational, governance and financial foundations that will enable us to transform the service to do so much more for the people of Scotland.

“We also recognise the areas for improvement highlighted in the report. Each of these are being prioritised and we are confident we will address the recommendations set out by Audit Scotland.”