A series of strikes are taking place from today until next week over cuts to services that could see firefighter numbers reduced by a quarter. 

Members of the Fire Brigade Union (FBU) at Essex County and Fire Rescue Service (ECFRS) are taking industrial action from today (August 21) until August 26.   

The walk-out by control operators will last from 7am to 7pm daily and follows on from two days of strike action on Monday and Wednesday by firefighters, station-based crews and watch managers. 

During the strike, crews across Essex dealt with 19 incidents, including 13 false alarms, five fires and an road traffic accident.

The FBU claims fire chiefs are not being honest about the impact the cuts will have on the service delivered to the public.

Riccardo la Torre, chair of the union in Essex, said: "It’s clear from the responses we are getting that the Essex public are fully behind our campaign.

"They realize that the more you keep cutting the number of firefighters, fire engines and equipment the greater the risks of people paying for it with their lives.

"Fewer firefighters mean slower responses to 999 calls.

"The public in Essex shouldn’t have the wool pulled over their eyes when it comes to life saving emergency services."

Full-time firefighters have been cut by 17.5 per cent over the last decade, but the new wave of measures could seem numbers cut by a further 25 per cent.