A proposal by the County's Chief Fire Officer to close down Appledore Fire Station was defeated by a narrow margin at meeting of the County Fire Brigade Committee.

The proposal was part of a larger scheme to cut down on the number of retained - part time - firemen and to increase the number of full time men. In his report the Chief Fire Officer said the average number of calls at Appledore over the past five years was 15. He recommended the area covered by Appledore should be taken over by Bideford.