Scottish firefighters leaders have said that there was "no option" other than resuming their strike action in a dispute over pay.

Fire Brigades Union (FBU) representatives, who were in London for talks, said further discussions with employers would be pointless without an improved pay offer.

They announced plans for a 24-hour stoppage on 21 January.

Two 48-hour strikes planned for later in January and early February will also go ahead.

Fire cover will be provided by the military

Kenny Ross, Strathclyde representative of the FBU, said: "Every single avenue that could be explored has been explored.

"There is no other option but to go on strike."

Firefighters held a two-day national strike - the first since 1977 - last November, followed shortly after by an eight-day walkout.

Plans for action in December were suspended to allow extra time for talks.

The FBU is officially campaigning for a fully qualified firefighters' basic wage to rise from �21,500 to �30,000, although they have said they are willing to negotiate in practice

Mr Ross said on Friday: "All the talking is over."

Reduce numbers

He said that the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott informed FBU general secretary Andy Gilchrist of his final offer on Thursday.

The offer of 4% now, followed by 7% later this year, is in line with the recommendations of the Bain report on pay and conditions.

It requires modernisation of work practices and cuts in firefighter numbers.

Mr Ross said the government was seeking to reduce firefighter numbers by 2% each year for the next four years.

He said the current offer was worse than the one they rejected last year.

Fire deaths

The decision came on the day that Dennis Davis, Her Majesty's chief inspector of fire services for Scotland, published his annual report for 2001-02.

This showed there were 84 fire deaths in Scotland during the year, a figure well below the 10-year average of 98 deaths a year.

Operational activity increased by 2.6%, with brigades attending 3,090 more incidents than the previous year - although this was mainly due to an 8.5% increase in small fires.

The report also showed more women joining the fire services with 271 female operational firefighters working in Scottish brigades compared with 248 the previous year.