Thousands of firemen, nurses and other public sector workers protested noisily in Madrid yesterday against crisis spending cuts which they say threaten crucial services in and around the Spanish capital.

Several thousand protesters filled an avenue in the centre of the city, sounding horns and drums, waving flags and yelling “Public services are not for sale!”

They were protesting the conservative regional government’s decision to cut sickness benefits for public sector workers, some of whom earn little more than €1,000 a month.

They also warned that the spending cuts – part of nationwide efforts under a new conservative Spanish government to strengthen public finances – were undermining social care and emergency services.

Protesters complained that retiring workers are not being replaced and replacements are not being hired to cover for regular workers when they are on holiday, resulting in poorer service in social services, schools and hospitals.

Among the marchers were scores of Madrid firemen in their shiny helmets and black overalls.

“There is no budget to buy tools to repair our vehicles,” said one of the staff.

“The hospitals are running at half capacity because there is not enough staff,” said Dolores Escrivano, 57, a nursing auxiliary, who demonstrated wearing the blue vest of her CSIT union.

The protest march massed in an avenue near Madrid’s Prado museum before setting off for the Puerta del Sol, the central square that has been a focal point for a wave of social protests since May last year.

Spain emerged only at the start of 2010 from an 18-month recession triggered by a global financial crisis and a property bubble collapse that destroyed millions of jobs and left behind huge bad loans and debts.