FIREFIGHTERS across Bexley will stage the first in a series of one-day strikes this weekend in their battle with the London Fire Brigade over changes to their shift pattern.

The day before the result of a strike ballot among Fire Brigade Union (FBU) members was announced, the brigade removed one of the two fire engines from Sidcup fire station in preparation for the strike.

The engine is one of 27 taken by the brigade for use by the private company AssetCo which will try to maintain fire cover across the capital during the walk-outs.

The first eight-hour strike will be on October 23 starting at 10am and lasting eight hours.

A second similar strike will take place on November 1.

The FBU says 79 per cent of its members who took part in the ballot voted for strike action.

The union has been in talks for nearly five years about plans to change the night and day shifts.

The brigade wants to change the present pattern of a 15-hour night shift and a nine-hour day shift, to two 12-hour shifts but has now offered an 11-hour day shift and 13-hour night shift.

It claims this would provide more productive time during the day for training and community fire safety work.

But the FBU says the new shifts would reduce night-time cover and disrupt firefighters’ family lives.

Brian Coleman, London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority chairman, then escalated the situation by triggering three-month formal consultations to terminate firefighters’ existing contracts and offering them back their jobs with new start and finish times.

Mr Coleman said: ”A strike by the FBU will be unnecessary, unjustified and viewed unsympathetically by Londoners.”

But FBU general secretary Matt Wrack replied: “Firefighters hate going on strike, but they hate being bullied even more.”