HAMPSHIRE firefighter Chris Pain was one of the county's only full-time serving members not to walk out on strike last night - but he wanted nothing more than to be a part of it.

It's the second time he has been caught up in industrial action with the fire service, having signed up as a firefighter just months before the 1977 strike.

Last night the station he has worked at for 25 years lay silent as his colleagues congregated around a burning fire outside, holding placards as they manned their picket lines.

But Chris was inside, with the full support of his workmates, because in 48 days' time he will retire and if he was to down tools he is likely to lose a hefty part of his pension.

Chris, 55, who previously worked as a bricklayer for 13 years, said: "I am very sad not to be with my colleagues outside.

"The fire service is all about working as a team, we do everything as a crew. But tonight they are outside and I am in here.

"I don't want to jeopardise my pension and that will happen if I walk out.

"But I back them as I know we are worth £30,000 a year.

"The union has told me to stay in and my workmates are all very supportive. They are great guys, the best you could ever meet. I can trust any one of them to keep me safe and that's what it's all about."

Chris joined Hampshire Fire Service in January 1977. After two months training, he spent a short time at Woolston before moving to his home town of Fareham where he has stayed ever since.

"It was bad then and came as a surprise because I had just started out,'' he said.

"However, this is really disappointing. It just shows that the industry has got nowhere in terms of better pay arrangements.''

On New Year's Eve he will retire from the job he loves and focus on spending some quality time with his family at his new home on the Isle of Wight.