THESE may look like professional firefighters tackling a serious car crash.

But they are in fact Hampshire's Royal Navy sailors training to cover emergencies during next week's Fire Brigades Union strike.

A total of 1,500 sailors are to provide countywide cover during the industrial action, set to begin with a 48-hour walk-out a week today.

Royal Navy teams will be positioned in urban areas, working alternate 12-hour shifts and co-ordinated by the police.

They plan to decorate their Green Goddesses with the White Ensign - the naval flag.

Unlike the Army, all Navy personnel learn fire-fighting skills as part of their basic training so they can tackle any sort of blaze while at sea.

The force has been gearing up for the strike for several months.

Sailors have been taken off ships currently alongside in Portsmouth and put through training courses at Whale Island in Portsmouth Harbour and RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall.

The Navy is also providing teams of technical experts across the country to respond to serious car crashes and to tackle any major incidents such as a plane crash or chemical spill.

A Royal Navy spokesman said: "Every person who goes to sea has been fully trained in firefighting.

"If you don't put fires out at sea you die, so the navy is also providing the technical side of the fire-fighting expertise during the strike.

"This has had substantial impact on the ships at sea."

It is estimated that 15 out of Hampshire's 52 fire stations - most of are in towns and cities - will be affected by the strike.

These are the ones which are manned by full-time firefighters who are members of the Fire Brigades Union.

A Hampshire Fire and Rescue spokesman said: "Hampshire appears to be lucky that the provision of military cover for the strike is coming from the Navy. They have more training and more experience of dealing with assorted fires than land-based members of the military.

"However there's not going to be the same level of cover. We will be employing the resources we have to ensure the best possible cover for the county."

But a Fire Brigades Union spokesman said the strike coverage would be completely inadequate.

"The training of the armed forces is not a patch on that of the professional service provided by the Hampshire rescue service," he said.

"The Green Goddesses don't have any cutting equipment or carry any breathing apparatus - and they have a low pressure hose reel, which is no better than a garden hose."

It will be the first firefighters' strike since 1977.

They are demanding a 40 per cent pay rise to boost the salary of a full-time professional from £21,531 to £30,000.