WILDFIRES across the county this summer stretched firefighters to their limits, service managers will be told today.

During some of the hottest months ever recorded in the UK, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service responded to roughly one-and-a-half times the average number of emergency calls for the time of year.

Firefighters who aim to 'mobilise' to 60 per cent of emergencies within 60 seconds only managed to set off to 47.7 per cent in that time in June.

The figures are revealed in the latest performance report of the Thames Valley Fire Control Service, which co-ordinates Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.

The dossier, which will go before heads of service at a meeting in Reading today, highlights the challenges which could lie ahead if summers like 2018 start to become the norm.

The report states: "June saw the start of one of the longest spells of dry weather in recent years, which resulted in increased levels of operational activity in all three services.

"The hot, dry conditions throughout June caused repeated ‘spikes’ in incoming call volumes, with large numbers of calls being received in very short time periods, which lead to call handling capacity being exceeded.

"This was particularly noticeable in more visible locations such as motorway verges and where outdoor fires create large smoke plumes.

"These extreme spikes are responsible for the significant drop in performance seen against the performance measures for answering emergency calls."

Provisional data for July also indicates a further increase to come for the next reporting period, it said.

However the report also reveals the control service plans to replace certain response time targets, including the '60 per cent in 60 seconds' target for mobilisation, with others that it considers to be more useful.

The public meeting at Berkshire HQ in Calcot starts at 2pm.