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

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

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

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

The news came as military crews faced one of their biggest challenges in the North-East yet, when a derelict bingo hall on Teesside was torched by arsonists.

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

Between 40 and 50 Army firefighters in two Green Goddesses and three red appliances fought the blaze from outside the building, while two RAF teams went into the roof area to put out two fires which had been started deliberately.

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.

Rescuers worked in driving rain to free two men, who were said to be off-duty military personnel, from the wreckage, on the Yafforth to Great Langton road. One man was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other was taken to the Friarage Hospital with leg injuries.

Meanwhile, hundreds of military and police personnel have stepped into the breach left by striking firefighters - and the costs are mounting.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has said it will eventually meet all police costs incurred during the dispute.

But last night senior police authority figures told The Northern Echo they were "not confident" of recouping their losses.

In County Durham, 96 officers, who are working on their rest days, have been assigned to provide escorts for Green Goddesses. A number of control staff have also been switched from regular police duties to man the phones at the Joint Operational Control Centre set up to take fire calls.

County Durham Police Authority chairman Councillor Joe Knox said: "We are incurring these costs through no fault of our own and I am not confident that they are recoverable."

North Durham MP Kevan Jones said: "From a taxpayer's point of view, this a burden which needs to be recouped."

Steve Gregg, the Fire Brigades Union regional organiser, said police costs nationally could hit £5m.

This came on top of a £1,000 bonus being paid to each member of the military providing makeshift fire cover, he claimed.

Hopes of a breakthrough in the bitter pay 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 employers and the FBU today in the hope of preventing the next eight-day strike, which is due to start on Wednesday.

FBU general secretary Andy Gilchrist visited the North-East last night to take part in BBC1's Question Time from Hartlepool.

Mr Gilchrist looked uneasy as he was asked to justify the firefighters' 40 per cent pay rise demand.

He insisted the FBU was still prepared to negotiate with employers and the Government.

"Tomorrow is an opportunity to get the talks on and strikes off," he said.