Hampshire Fire and Rescue is making contingency plans for a strike, in the face of threatened industrial action by the county's firefighters.

Chief officer, John Bonney, said: "This is a serious situation for all concerned, not least for the communities we serve. Whatever the rights and wrongs of this issue, they can only be resolved round the negotiation table, not on the picket line."

Mr Bonney said a negotiated settlement had been close. "We hope talks will begin again as soon as possible."

The result of the FBU ballot should be known by the first week of September and seven days' notice must be given of any action."It would be irresponsible of the service to wait until then before making any preparations, even though the form of any action is not known," said Mr Bonney. "We're now making plans to maximise the resources we have."

So far, there has been no sign of the FBU leadership in Hampshire backing away from a strike.

On Sunday, county FBU secretary, Conrad Jordan, wrote an angry letter to Michael Cartwright, chairman of Hampshire Fire Authority, saying that if members voted no in the ballot, there would be nothing to prevent the employers withholding pay increases indefinitely, or placing even more demands on the union.

"The Fire Brigades' Union will demonstrate that we refuse to be bullied," Mr Jordan writes. "I'm sure FBU members will show their utter disgust in the coming weeks and in our ballot."