Norfolk's firefighters have been hailed as leading the way for emergency services across the country following the opening of Sheringham's new �1.25 million station.

The eco-friendly building is the first in Norfolk to house all the blue light services and will now be shared by fire, police, ambulance crews and the coastguard.

Fire minister Bob Neill, who officially opened the station this afternoon, said the collaborative work had pushed the county's fire service to the 'cutting edge' nationally, and praised all those involved in seeing the project through.

He said: 'I'm delighted that we have got all the blue light services coming together here at a time when we have got to make sure the public pot goes that much further.

'This state of the art facility will get the maximum use throughout the day. It encourages and reinforces the culture of collaboration we all want to see.'

The two-storey building in Cromer Road was funded by Tesco as part of the retail giant's planning conditions for erecting a new supermarket on the site of the old station.

It will now provide the home for Sheringham's retained crew, a response base for the ambulance service and accommodation for a neighbourhood policing team and the coastguard.

Mr Neill added: 'It's been brought on stream particularly quickly and the fact it's been able to get in the police, fire, ambulance plus the coastguard is a particular plus.

'And the way it's been procured in collaboration with the private sector, all of that is a very good model indeed and it does genuinely put Norfolk as a fire service right at the cutting edge nationally.'

The old station, which was built in 1963, will be demolished along with the town's community centre to make way for the Tesco store, which is scheduled to open next year.