MORE than 100 fire and rescue service personnel in Greater Manchester are self-isolating, it has been revealed.

And 87 of these are frontline firefighters and control room staff, according to the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).

Union chiefs say fire and rescue workers urgently need coronavirus testing, the FBU has warned, as services lose up to 12 per cent of their firefighters and control staff to self-isolation.

Nearly 3,000 fire and rescue staff nationwide are in self-isolation and unable to work, representing 5.1 per cent of the UK’s overall fire and rescue workforce. Just under 2,600 of them are operational firefighters and control staff, making up 5.3 per cent of the total.

Fire control rooms have been worst hit in some areas, with some losing 15.9 per cent of their staff.

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said:“The Westminster government is playing with fire by not testing firefighters and control room staff for coronavirus. Currently, crews are maintaining services, but this will become increasingly difficult as the virus spreads.”

In a letter to the FBU, Security Minister James Brokenshire is said to have made no commitment to testing fire and rescue personnel in isolation in England, of which 2,300 are in isolation.