A SECOND strike by firefighters in four days passed without incident this morning.

Members of the Fire Brigade Union walked out for two hours between 6am and 8am in a row over pension contributions and changes to the retirement age.

It follows a five hour strike on Friday evening.

The action saw Drove Road, Stratton and Westlea fire stations close for the length of the strike period with pickets forming outside each of them.

Brent Thorley, Wiltshire Secretary for the FBU, said: “The turnout for the strike was as good as could have been expected.

“This is something every member feels very strongly about and we appear to have the backing of the public.

“We have chosen these short strikes because we don’t want to affect the public too much. We selected the times because we want to get the message across that we are a 24 hour a day service.”

The FBU called the strike after the government announced plans to increase the level of pension contributions and raise the age of retirement from 55 to 60.

This has led to concerns many will struggle to pass fitness tests and subsequently lose their jobs.

A strike was called earlier in October but was cancelled after a deal was thought to have been struck. However, due to a lack of assurances over who would be responsible for paying the FBU were not able to accept it.

Brent said: “The deal put the burden onto local authorities who said they were not able to guarantee the funding so without those assurances we said we could not accept.

“It’s very frustrating but as it stands I think there may well be further action.

“Taking action over longer periods of time is a weapon we have not yet used but it is something we can do.

“We just want to sit down for meaningful talks.

“My message to the public is if they don’t want us to go on strike then lobby your local MP or councillor and get them to put pressure on the government to sit down for proper talks.”

Chief Fire Officer for Wiltshire Fire Rescue Simon Routh-Jones said: “My thanks go to those staff who made themselves available to maintain an emergency response across the county – fortunately, we had just one false alarm during the first strike and no incidents this morning.

“While we were quiet, it was imperative that our communities could be sure that 999 calls were responded to quickly.

“I am very proud that we were able to keep such a good level of fire cover throughout both periods of action.

“After early hope that progress was being made in this national dispute between the FBU and the Government, it now seems as though the two sides are some way from finding a resolution.

“This is obviously very disappointing, and we can only hope that the negotiations will continue.”