We have now reached an agreement which means the member is on special leave

Neil Thompson, Fire Brigade Union

The strike was called off at 1800 BST on 10 September.

Peter Dowd, chairman of the Merseyside Fire Authority, said: "We had to protect the people of Merseyside and our own legal position to take every action necessary to provide emergency cover.

"I don't think there has ever been a situation in Britain where firefighters have gone on strike and left no emergency cover."

Fire Brigade Union (FBU) officials say they returned to work after securing an agreement with management over the firefighter who was suspended.

He was being disciplined following allegations about the content of the website, which has since been closed down.

FBU officials are due to meet management from the fire authority to discuss the issue later this week.

Neil Thompson, regional chairman of the FBU, said: "We were told the member was being suspended.

"We believed the action broke the back-to-work agreement we made at the end of the strike and that led to members at all the fire stations going on strike.

"We have now reached an agreement which means the member is on special leave."

'Risked safety'

National officers from the FBU are due to meet management from the Merseyside Fire Brigade to discuss the issue next week.

Military teams tackled fires during a previous dispute

Chief Fire Officer Malcolm Saunders described the strike as dangerous and unlawful.

He said: "I'm very disturbed indeed. This was unlawful action which placed the lives and safety of the people of Merseyside at risk and there was no justification for it at all.

"We suspended a fire officer because of allegations that he is involved in the publication of a website containing obscene, sexist and racist material.

"He was suspended on full pay and there is no presumption of guilt in that suspension.

"It is quite normal procedure and he is not being proceeded against in any way because of taking strike action."

Between 1300 and 1800 BST, when the strike officially ended, the fire service control room was run by a skeleton staff of senior managers and a few operators.

Fires were reported to the police to tackle but there were no major incidents.

Union hostility

FBU leaders said there were no plans to repeat the action.

In July, army Green Goddesses were deployed after Merseyside Fire Service held two eight-day strikes.

The action was sparked by plans to promote civilian staff to management positions, but it took place in the context of long-standing hostility between union members and Mr Saunders.

The website which is believed to have caused today's suspension includes poems which mock Mr Saunders.