Somerset residents are being asked to steer clear of fire stations as fire authority staff seek to keep the coronavirus from spreading further.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has closed all its fire stations to public events and organised visits as part of its effort to protect both the public and its crews.

The fire service has also scaled back its home visits (designed to ensure people have measures in their homes to prevent fires) to take account of people across both counties who are self-isolating.

The fire authority said it was closely monitoring situation and support could still be given online or over the phone to people looking to take more preventative measures in their homes.

In a statement published on its official website, the fire authority said it was making changes that would "protect our front-line service" and regular meetings with government officials and specialist groups were being held.

A spokesman said: "We are continually monitoring and managing the impact of coronavirus on our staff and communities, so that we continue to deliver our front-line services should the virus continue to spread.

As part of our response to the pandemic, we are restricting access to stations – access to all of our fire stations is now restricted to staff only.

"We are cancelling all community events and station and community visits – we apologise for the inconvenience and disappointment this may cause and will be reviewing the situation for future events.

"We are doing this because we need to protect our front-line staff and prioritise responding to incidents, home fire safety visits to people who are not self-isolating, as well as fire safety checks for businesses."

To obtain advice about keeping your home safe from fire, call 0800 05 02 999 or visit www.dsfire.gov.uk.