Green goddess crews faced one of their biggest challenges yet last night after a bingo hall on Teesside was torched by arsonists.

Pubs, cafes, shops and flats were evacuated on the High Street, Stockton, as smoke billowed from the roof of a derelict bingo hall in the centre of town.

Between 40 and 50 Army firefighters fought the blaze from the outside of the building, while two RAF teams went into its roof to put out two fires deliberately started, one at each end.

A police spotter plane circled overhead, training a thermal image camera on to the building, pinpointing hot points, to aid the military firefighters.

The soldiers were directed by a senior, full time fire brigade officer.

The biggest concern for the military was the risk of the blaze in the old Mecca bingo hall spreading to adjoining property in the tightly packed town centre.

Police cordoned off a large area of the High Street using men, cars and vans while thick acrid smoke from the fire poured into neighbouring, narrow Ramsgate.

Lieutenant Colonel David Amos of the Light Dragoons was the officer in charge of the operation.

At its height, he said: "There are two seats of fire, one at the front and one at the back of the bingo hall, in the roof space.

"We have got five fire engines, three red and two Green Goddesses, two breathing apparatus crews and a rescue tender.

"It is a huge joint operation. We are using red appliances which have got high pressure hoses.

"It is a big building, a typical size for an old 1930s style cinema and an awful amount of smoke."

Detective Superintendent Brian Dunn, of Cleveland Police visited the scene.

It is the second major fire in the High Street in five days. A blaze broke out in Oscars night club, also in the High Street, at the weekend.

In North Yorkshire, a Green Goddess crew was scrambled when a soldier died in a car accident.

Firefighters left their picket line in Northallerton, to aid the rescue effort after a Ford Escort left the road and crashed into a hedge just outside the town.

Meanwhile, it was revealed last night that the strike is costing the region's taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds every day.

The bill, which is rising remorselessly, emerged from police estimates of their costs of providing assistance during the strike.

The Northern Echo has learned that County Durham Police have racked up £180,000 alone - the bulk of which has been paid in overtime to officers placed on standby to help the military.

It is thought that the estimated £20,000 daily cost suffered by the force could be mirrored by police forces in the North-East and North Yorkshire, which are also feeling the strain.

The Fire Brigades Union said this showed that the Government was more anxious to crush the resolve of the firefighters than meet the cost of their pay claim.

Hopes of a breakthrough in the bitter dispute nosedived last night when local authority employers admitted they had no new offer to put forward and the Government refused to budge from its hardline stance.

However, informal talks will be held between the employers and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) today, as the current eight-day strike nears its end.

The walkout will end at 9am tomorrow and a fresh eight-day strike will start next Wednesday, unless progress is made in the renewed contact between the two sides.

The FBU has been pushing for a 40 per cent rise, but the union has been ready to discuss a 16 per cent offer.

FBU general secretary Andy Gilchrist visited the North-East last night.

He took part in BBC Question Time, which came from Hartlepool. Former Minister and local MP Peter Mandelson was also on the panel.

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