Thousands of firefighters are taking industrial action, but many say they only do so with a heavy heart.

Firefighter Paul Kayley, a member of White Watch at Harrogate Fire Station, North Yorkshire, explains his reasons for joining the strike.

AS an operational firefighter with the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, I feel very sad, and quite sick, that we are having to withdraw our services in order to make the Government to listen.

This dispute is not just about money - it's about fairness.

The Government has for too long been over-willing to take advantage of the good nature and kindness of its public sector workers, who provide high standards of service in the most difficult of situations, with minimal funding and financial reward.

We, as firefighters, risk our lives on a daily basis because we believe what we do to be an honorable and noble profession, not because we get paid to do it.

However, we have opened our eyes and realised that enough is enough; we can no longer allow ourselves to be walked upon and under-valued.

I will put my life at risk in a moment, without judgment or prejudice, to save a life which is in danger. I feel proud to do what I do and have healthy self respect as a result.

Except, that is, at the end of each month when I open my pay slip to see that I am only worth £245 a week. My pride is instantly deflated and I feel insulted, but I continue because my drive is not financial.

I hate the thought of striking. If it was my decision alone, I would rather continue to be undervalued and poorly paid, than see lives put at risk.

However, I cannot stand by and watch colleagues, whom I greatly admire and respect, continue to risk so much for so little. We don't want to strike, we have all been praying for a peaceful resolution.

Some may say that four per cent, then seven per cent, is a very generous offer.

But to a firefighter, four per cent and seven per cent of very little, amounts to not very much more.

The increase being requested is a reflection of how our wages have fallen far behind normal levels over the past 15 years, due to our outdated pay formula.

We are not greedy people. We do not want huge salaries - just fair pay for the work we do.

As a comparison, the Government in the US famously recognises the value of the services provided by its firefighters and pays them the equivalent of £36,000 a year, plus benefits.

A fully-qualified police constable working in rural North Yorkshire gets paid more than £28,000 a year, plus allowances and overtime.

A fully qualified British firefighter will earn just over £21,000 for a longer week, with no allowances, benefits or overtime.

Having worked as a police officer for five years prior to joining the fire service, I feel in a qualified position to compare the two, and can say confidently that the services should receive comparable pay.

As a profession, the fire service is being asked to modernise in return for this so-called generous offer. We have been modernising for many years to meet an expanding range of greater responsibilities and more complex risks posed by modern life.

We are accused of not working overtime, not carrying defibrillators to save lives and being inflexible in our working practices. We do work overtime, at the end of a shift at an operational incident if we haven't yet found someone lost in a burning building or freed someone trapped in a crushed car, we don't just down tools and go home; we stay until our services are no longer required - however long it takes.

At my station, we carry a defibrillator on each fire engine and undertake regular training in their use.

I also feel I am fairly flexible in my working practices, and can regularly be ordered in an instant to carry out my duties at any station in the whole of North Yorkshire, without question, to cover manning deficiencies. I will also work nightshifts, unsociable hours, including weekends, bank holidays, Christmas and New Year's Eve.

This Government knows we deserve fair treatment, but it is also blatantly aware that the paramedics, nurses and other essential services have also been neglected for many years.

But then it is not surprising that there is no money left to fund anything near our requests when MPs have recently increased their own salaries by 48 per cent.

I just want this situation to end as soon as possible and for the Government to stop allowing politics to take lives.

We, as firefighters, will stand side by side - not for money, but for fairness.