WAR may be hell, but it seems preferable to a dull day in Darlington.

Across the country, 30,000 members of the Armed Forces were making preparations yesterday to ship out to the Gulf, possibly to do battle with Saddam.

But in one quiet corner of the North-East, a group of 30 soldiers, RAF firefighters, Royal Navy crews and police officers were doing their best to battle boredom.

Periodically, their gaze raised from the TV screen where Austin Powers battled international evil to the window where a steady drizzle fell - and thoughts drifted to the deserts of Iraq.

Despite being the busiest centre in County Durham during the last firefighters strike, these stand-in fire crews, mostly from the 40th Regiment of the Royal Artillery, are having a quiet day.

Each serviceman covering Darlington has received a welfare grant of £5 to buy themselves board games to fill in the time between calls.

Darlington police, who escort the Green Goddesses and Army's red engines to fires, presented them with free passes to a nearby leisure centre to wind down after a shift.

Last week, the soldiers of the 40th Regiment, which is providing fire cover for the whole of County Durham, were told they would not be going to the Gulf but must stay in the UK in case of further fire strikes.

Sergeant Tom Jones said: "It's a bit disappointing for the lads because a lot of them wanted to go.

"But we always carry out our orders to the best of our abilities. The lads love the job we are doing now. It is very challenging.

"Last time we were so busy - we had everything from car accidents to house fires and a gas explosion."

At quiet times while providing cover, the regiment, based at Topcliffe near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, undergo intensive training from the fully-trained firefighters based there, who serve in the Royal Navy and the RAF.

The lecture halls in the TA centre serve as a base for the constant first-aid training, fire training and continuing Army training the servicemen take part in.

"It's not all hard work," said Sgt Jones. "We got a welfare package of DVDs and videos last time.

"The hardest part really is keeping the guys from getting bored. In the Army you want to be on the go all the time.

"Last time we also found the hoax calls frustrating because you get into a mindset of wanting to tackle the fire when you are called out.

"Darlington police said that they had more car fires than ever before when we were on last time - mainly because the kids making the calls wanted to see the Green Goddesses in action.

"Some of the children watching us tackling the fire were quite disappointed when the red engines went out instead."