THIS banner outside a North Yorkshire first station sums up the defiant mood of the county's firefighters.

They say their ongoing dispute is no longer just about pay but also about preventing the decimation of Britain's fire service.

This picture was taken at Selby, where full-time and retained firemen are preparing for a fight to the finish with the Government.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said the planned 24-hour strike next Tuesday would go ahead if the employers continued to insist on the union agreeing to the Bain review recommendations.

FBU chiefs in North Yorkshire said that "Bain review" should be read as "the Government's modernisation agenda", which would have "catastrophic" results.

The FBU's North Yorkshire secretary, John Mitchell, said today that the "modernisation" plans would mean 4,500 fewer firefighters, the equivalent of 1,500 fire engines.

The union wants a near-40 per cent pay rise to give their members a basic salary of £30,000.

Mr Mitchell said: "Pay settlements for NHS workers range from 17 per cent to 40 per cent. We appear to have been singled out because we are perceived as one of the strongest trade unions in Britain.

"It's very reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher and the miners in 1984. The intention is to break the union." He added: "The support we've received from the public in every area of North Yorkshire has been astounding and heart-warming.

"We now have an opportunity to repay that support because they have made us an offer that we can't possibly accept."

The current offer is four per cent now and seven per cent later this year, provided the union agrees to modernisation.

At Selby fire station, sub-officer Rob Horton said that every full-time and retained firefighter was fully behind the union.

He said: "No matter how much spin the Government puts on modernisation, it would lead to the decimation of Britain's fire service, putting our lives and those of the public at risk. We aren't prepared to stand by and watch that happen.

"If a strike is called next Tuesday we will walk out, although we will cross picket lines if someone is trapped in a car or a house fire."

Updated: 10:53 Thursday, January 16, 2003