THE prospect of the first national strike by firefighters for 25 years loomed large last night after the collapse of last-ditch pay talks.

Leaders of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said they would be discussing calling a ballot for strikes after a 90-minute meeting with employers made no progress.

About 900 Army Green Goddesses are ready to be used as cover if a strike goes ahead.

It also emerged that firefighters from four of the region's brigades had already taken part in unofficial industrial action earlier in the day.

Union sources told The Northern Echo that firefighters in County Durham, Cleveland, Tyne and Wear and Northumberland answered 999 calls only between 1pm and 5pm.

The action, which was not condoned by the FBU, was said to be out of sheer frustration, but did not put any members of the public at risk, it was claimed.

Earlier, employers' leaders warned of a "headlong rush" to a strike ballot, and said that lives and property would be at risk from industrial action.

They tabled a four per cent offer in response to the union demand for a near 40 per cent rise to take pay to £30,000, and said they were willing to make a joint submission to the Government for an independent inquiry into pay.

The union rejected the offer, with FBU general secretary Andy Gilchrist saying: ''They have refused to say how much we are worth and have therefore set the wheels in motion towards the second national strike in the history of the UK fire service."

Several thousand firefighters, including more than 200 from the North-East, staged a noisy but peaceful demonstration outside yesterday's talks in London.

Ian Moore, who is co-ordinating the pay campaign in Durham and Darlington, said 70 firefighters from the county had travelled to the capital to take part.

He said: "We believe our pay scale should reflect the hours we work, the risks we take and our professionalism.

"My members are angry and frustrated that the employers have refused to negotiate an adequate pay formula.

"The potential for strike action is there - although it will only happen if we are forced into it."

Mr Moore said the union had already conducted an informal poll of County Durham firefighters, who were unanimous in support of action.

Ian Kerr, 42, from Washington fire station, on Wearside, said he had been a firefighter for 15 years and deserved more money.

Mr Kerr said: "We massively lag behind other workers like the police and teachers.

"I earn £23,000 and I cannot live on that money. I've got two children to support.

"I'm sure we will be voting for strike action. It will be very difficult. We don't want to strike but we have to."

FBU Cleveland branch secretary Alan Blacklee, speaking from the protest, said: "The strength of feeling over this is very, very strong."

Chairman of the employers organisation Ted George said employers simply could not afford the union's demands and he was "extremely disappointed".

He said: "We told the union we agree there should be a new pay system for firefighters. We suggest it is based on the rise in average settlement in the rest of the economy.

"But we cannot meet a wage rise of anything like the union's demand."

Executive director Charles Nolda conceded that if there was a strike, cover provided by the Green Goddesses would not be as efficient as that provided by fire authorities, which use 3,000 fire engines.

The Army said it had already placed a number of its staff in the region on stand-by and some had already begun training for the task.

York-based spokeswoman Allison Potter-Drake said: "The military in the region are in a contingency phase right now and are waiting to see what happens next.

"There will be a certain amount of troops seconded from the Catterick area and specific drivers and crew are being identified."