Fire bosses and the military across Devon and Cornwall are gearing up to provide emergency cover for a 48-hour firefighters' strike.

Half century-old Green Goddess military fire engines have been drafted into both counties to cover for the industrial action which is due to start at 1800 GMT on Wednesday.

It is thought there will be up to five engines in Cornwall and 12 based around Devon.

Both of the county's fire brigades have said they have plans in place if there are any call-outs during the strike.

Devon and Cornwall will have 17 Green Goddesses

The Ministry of Defence will be co-ordinating Green Goddess coverage from HMS Drake in Plymouth.

Cornwall's Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Steve Webster, said: "We have mapped our fire cover arrangements with our fire crews at retained stations.

"Where we have a shortfall in any areas, we will be calling upon military resources.

"What we will be providing is a level of emergency fire cover where we are undertaking to continue to provide a response to fire calls and other incidents we are called with."

In Devon the county's fire and rescue service has said that contingency arrangements are in place to provide emergency fire cover, fire safety enforcement and arson investigation.

The strike is being held as part of a campaign by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) for a pay rise of 40%.

On Monday, the FBU rejected the findings of an independent review which recommended the 11% pay rise over two years, linked to changes in working practices.

'Nightmare conditions'

The chairman of the Devon branch of the FBU, Dave Chappel, said the government left them with no alternative but to strike.

He said: "Because firefighting is a job that people want to be in, because we find it rewarding, basically we have to accept poverty pay and poor conditions and that is a nightmare."

However, some parts of both counties may not be greatly affected because they have stations operated solely by retained firefighters.

The Retained Firefighters' Union (RFU) has said it will not be taking industrial action as it has a no-strike policy.

Devon has 557 full-time firefighters and 744 retained. Cornwall has 181 full-time firefighters and 425 retained.

Most of the retained firefighters belong to the RFU, although some belong to the FBU.

The advice is people should still call 999 if there is a fire.