FIREFIGHTERS across the country will learn tomorrow whether they are to strike over pay.

The Fire Brigade Union (FBU) will announce the result of a ballot that could lead to their first strike for 25 years.

It is thought the vote will overwhelmingly back a series of walkouts in their campaign for an increase in pay from £21,500 for a fully qualified firefighter to £30,000.

Gwent union officials will join colleagues at the South Wales FBU headquarters in Cardiff to await the news.

Today they will also be joining hundreds of Welsh firefighters in lobbying the Assembly for support for their action.

Maindee firefighter and FBU official Bob Allen said: "I expect there to be a resounding yes for a strike vote announced tomorrow. Then it is up to the employers to come back with a better offer."

If strike action does go ahead Wales will be covered by 40 Green Goddesses instead of the usual 200 regular fire engines.

The government recently blocked a 15 per cent offer saying it would send the wrong message to other public sector workers.

A comparison of non-graduate public service workers' pay reveals that although everyone starts on broadly similar money, gaps emerge later in the careers of those who provide vital services.

When first qualified all emergency service workers receive a similar wage of between £21,000- £22,500.

The differences emerge later when police officers get annual increases for every year in service while paramedics and firefighters remain at the same rate all of their careers.

PICTURED: Firefighters protesting in London last month.