ANDOVER is bracing itself for the first firefighters' strike in 25 years - and the return of Green Goddesses to the streets.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue chiefs are anticipating Andover will be declared a 'strike station' for the first 48-hour action starting on Tuesday.

But all fully-retained stations at Overton, Whitchurch, Stockbridge and Ludgershall are expected to answer emergency calls as normal.

Assistant Divisional Officer Dave Lock said there might be occasions when retained stations would not be able to respond but that would be due to continuing crew shortages and not to strike action.

Leading firefighter Rob Dellow claimed this week the military did not have the expertise to cope with a recent fire in Weyhill, which severely damaged a garage after a boiler blew up and threatened the adjoining house.

"Obviously a firefighter's primary concern is saving life and nobody in their heart of hearts would want to see anybody die as a result of this action," he said. "But as things stand at the moment, if Andover station is closed because of strike action, there will be one Green Goddess covering Andover."

Asked if striking firefighters would turn out to tackle a major disaster in Andover if they could provide help in time, he said: "It would become a moral issue for each individual, and each individual has to weigh up how he feels about breaking a picket line or saving life - and that goes back to no firefighter wanting to see anybody die as a result of this action."

Service spokesman Mike Gates said: "Every firefighter is entitled to express his view but he doesn't know, and I don't know, whether the military would have been able to cope with a particular fire or not - it's all opinion."

He could not say how many Green Goddesses would be covering Andover because the deployment was based countywide and determined by the military. Mr Gates added: "This action will not help the issue be resolved and could have potentially harmful effects on the public."

But he said the service did not want to be provocative and said that retained fire crews from rural areas would not be used to cover Andover's fireground.