Fire cover in Eastern England will not match the usual service available to the public during the fire brigades strike officials have warned.

Differing numbers of retained and non-union firefighters across the region will affect emergency cover.

People can still call 999 in an emergency, but in most counties, calls will go to military control centres rather than to fire control rooms.

A panel will then decide how to respond.

I can't sugar-coat it, and actually I'm extremely concerned

David Turner Essex Chief Fire Officer

David Turner, the Chief Fire Officer for Essex, said he is worried about public safety in the county.

"I can't sugar-coat it, and actually I'm extremely concerned."

He said the fire cover during the strike could only be described as a "minimal safety net", and said he would urge the public to "be very vigilant during this time".

Motorists in all regions have been advised to drive carefully, as the Green Goddess fire engines do not carry some specialised equipment often used at accident scenes.

Northamptonshire police have said they will assist the military in providing local knowledge for temporary firefighters during the dispute.

Green Goddesses lack cutting gear and radios

Tristan Ashby from the Retained Firefighters' Union at Attleborough said a large number of retained firefighters will be on duty in Norfolk and "carrying on as normal".

Green Goddesses will provide cover for Norwich, King's Lynn, Great Yarmouth and Thetford during the strike, but rural areas will be covered by retained firefighters.

Suffolk also has a large number of retained firefighters, with 404 compared to 247 full- time firefighting staff.

Five Green Goddess fire engines will be on call in Bedfordshire, and five retained stations will also be operational but will only deal with incidents in their usual area.

In Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, if retained fire stations are fully crewed they will be mobilised by the Chief Fire Officer.