Up to 100 fire engines sit idle each day because there are not enough firefighters to crew them.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service chief Alasdair Hay said the organisation needs a "fundamental redesign" after a leaked report showed it was considering closing stations.

He admitted between 60 and 100 pumps are regularly out of use because of staffing problems.

"We're here to save lives and protect property," he told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme.

"We need to do something and we need to redesign the service to make sure we've got the right resources in the right place at all times and that is a serious question that we are putting to our staff.

"What we are asking is how can we deliver this service in a different way."

Around two-thirds of Scotland's 356 fire stations are in rural areas but urban stations are believed to be most at risk.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was created in 2013 after eight regional fire brigades were merged into a single national organisation.

It employs around 7800 people, around 700 fewer than when it was formed, partly as a result of the closure of local control rooms.