There are nearly 700 fewer firefighters working in Scotland than there were three years ago.

Since the creation of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in 2013, 956 staff have left their jobs.

A total of 667 firefighters – 461 full-time and 206 part-time – have quit or retired from the service.

It has left firefighter numbers at their lowest level since 2010, according to figures published on Thursday.

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The SFRS currently employs 7591 people, compared to 8547 in 2013 and 8841 in 2010, the earliest year for which information is available.

The number of volunteers working with the service has also fallen from 359 to 342 since 2013.

It was recently revealed that police officer numbers in Scotland are also at a six-year low, with the biggest drop following the creation of Police Scotland in 2013.

An SFRS spokeswoman said: “Our firefighters have responded to every 999 emergency call since the creation of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and they will continue to respond to every emergency call from our communities.

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“It is very disappointing when their outstanding dedication in protecting the public at these times of emergency – whenever and wherever they might arise – is overshadowed by negativity.

“We appreciate their dedication and their professionalism in continuing to stand on the front line during a time of momentous change as we combined eight services into the current national service.

“A number of firefighters have indeed left the SFRS, whether through retirement, transferring to another service or leaving.

“However, we have already welcomed 46 new whole-time firefighters this year and we are set to launch yet another recruitment campaign later this year.

“We have repeatedly appealed for retained firefighters to join the service and help protect the more rural and remote areas of our very diverse country.

“Our resource-based crewing model will ensure we have the staffing capacity and capability to deal with all incidents within our communities.

“Furthermore, our multi-million pound investment will create state-of-the-art control and command capabilities for the ultimate benefit of the people of Scotland.

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“Since the launch of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in 2013, we have aligned our service delivery through a very firm grip of our resources, reducing duplication and inefficiency.

“This ensured not only best value in an economically challenging environment – but ensured our front line was protected, and remains unaffected.”

The figures also show there were 84 attacks on fire crews between 2015/16, an increase of nine incidents.

Two firefighters were injured in attacks, down from five the year before.

Fire crews handed out three prohibition notices over buildings they believed were unsafe between 2015/16, and 24 enforcement notices – 14 of which were in hotels.