Firefighters in England and Wales staged a fresh strike last night in their bitter row with the government over pensions, disrupting firework displays.
Members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) walked out at 6.30pm, mounting picket lines outside fire stations until the stoppage ended at 11pm.
A further two-hour strike will be held from 6am on Monday, the day before Bonfire Night.
In London, all striking FBU staff who would be on duty were recalled to their stations because of a major blaze at a scrap metal yard in Dagenham.
London Fire Brigade said this was under the agreed Recall to Duty Procedure and was voluntary.
Last night fire brigades urged members of the public to put off any firework displays in their own gardens and to switch them to today or go to an organised event.
The union held a four-hour stoppage last month but called off another strike after it appeared a deal was in sight, but officials said the government and fire employers had failed to offer any firm guarantees on jobs or pensions as a result of changing the pension age from 55 to 60.
The union fears firefighters will be made redundant if they fail fitness tests and are unable to find other work in the fire service.
FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: “Firefighters are keen for these issues to be resolved through discussion but the government won’t even listen to its own evidence which highlights that the schemes are unworkable and unaffordable. Firefighters want a pension scheme that takes account of the hazardous nature of the job, is affordable and workable for them and for the taxpayer. We hope this brief strike will mean the government returns to negotiations so we can agree a sensible way forward.”
The FBU said it has timed the strikes so that celebrations on Bonfire Night and the Saturday before and after November 5 can take place.
Negotiations with the Scottish Government have so far prevented any industrial action taking place, although a final settlement is yet to be reached on all the issues in the dispute.
Fire Minister Brandon Lewis said: “This strike action by the FBU is completely unnecessary and does nothing but damage the good reputation firefighters have with the public. We offered firefighters similar fitness principles to those the FBU accepted in Scotland. The FBU should reconsider their decision to strike – announced just four days into discussions – and work for a resolution to this dispute.”