Striking Devon fire crews left their picket lines on Tuesday night to deal with two major incidents.

Three Plymouth crews stopped industrial action to cut a woman free from the wreckage of her car on the southbound lane of the A38 Devon Expressway, near the St Budeaux area of the city.

The crews joined a military rescue team and a Red Goddess at about 2200 GMT.

Torquay firefighters joined the military

The car, which had two passengers, had careered off the road and flipped over onto its roof.

The woman was not believed to be seriously injured, but was taken to Derriford Hospital.

A man who was also in the vehicle was able to walk away from the crash.

We have never hidden the fact that we will respond if people's lives are thought to be in danger Firefighter Guy Watkins

In Torquay, striking firefighters left their picket lines when they were told a family may be trapped in a burning first floor flat.

However, when they got inside, the flat turned out to be empty.

Police were also at the scene, escorting the Green Goddesses.

Striking Torquay firefighter Guy Watkins said that with lives apparently in danger, they had no hesitation in answering the call for help.

Car death

He said: "We have never hidden the fact that we will respond if people's lives are thought to be in danger.

"The control room knows that and will tell us, and then it is up to us to decide whether we go or we don't."

In Penzance, Cornwall, a person died after their car caught fire just after 0200 GMT on Wednesday.

Military crews arrived at the scene within five minutes, and found the car to be heavily ablaze with a person inside.

The fire is being treated as suspicious, and the vehicle, believed to be a Volvo, has been recovered for examination.

About 400 Royal Navy personnel took over firefighting duties from the strikers across Devon and Cornwall when the strike commenced at 0900 GMT on Tuesday.

Coffin protest

More than 1,100 retained firefighters across the two counties have been on duty as normal.

Striking firefighters say they are fighting cutbacks proposed by the Bain Report on the fire service.

In Exeter, about 50 striking FBU members carried into the city centre a coffin symbolising the future of the fire service if proposed changes went ahead.

Two further strikes are scheduled for 28 January and 1 February.