SPARE a thought for Fireman Sam.

Always on the scene, engine bright and clean, he’s been fighting fires in the delightful Welsh town of Pontypandy for more than 30 years. Without him, Naughty Norman would have burned down the place long ago.

The news that Lincolnshire Fire Service is replacing Sam with more inclusive mascots, has been met with a storm of protest from well, TV chef James Martin mainly, and the perpetually outraged on social media.

Let’s be clear here – Sam is not being axed from television, nor is anyone suggesting the show is sexist (Penny Morris, Sam’s fellow firefighter, is a fine role model for young viewers. A trained coastguard officer who pilots Neptune, the Pontypandy lifeboat, this is a woman whose idea of a day off is a ten-mile hike with rescue helicopter pilot Tom Thomas, followed by a quick rock-climb and rappelling session.)

Read more: Teenagers rock - and we should celebrate them

All that’s happening here is a fire service, keen to overturn enduring stereotypical ideas that it’s a ‘man’s job,’ is taking the supremely sensible decision to drop Sam from its advertising campaign.

Great Fires of London! What madness is this, howl the anti-PC brigade. Well, actually, it’s not mad at all. Despite huge advances in the fight for equality, gender stereotypes persist, and they can be harmful.

A ban on adverts featuring gender stereotypes, such as the useless dad who cannot change a nappy or the woman unable to park her car, came into force earlier this year, following a review by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that found harmful stereotypes could “restrict the choices, aspirations and opportunities of children, young people and adults”.

Exasperated Lincolnshire Fire Service boss Les Britzman, bemused by the furore, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “We’re trying to save people’s lives here, not be politically correct. The reason more women don’t want to be firefighters is because of images like Fireman Sam.”

Well said. As a mother of sons, I have tried hard to make sure my boys read about, watch and admire strong female characters as much as male ones.

Read more: Big girl's blouse and other unsatisfactory insults

I think it has worked - the 11-year-old’s favourite Avenger is Scarlet Witch, after all, and he always much preferred the formidable Hermione (who, let’s face it, would have defeated Voldemort and wrapped up the whole thing by book three had she been in charge) to the eternally angst-ridden Harry Potter .

Boys and girls need strong male and female role models to inspire and encourage them.

Time to move aside, make way, Fireman Sam.