NORTH YORKSHIRE

A hoax call put the first Green Goddess on the road in North Yorkshire.

The fire service control centre received the 999 call less than two hours after the strike began. The report of a house on fire with people trapped inside came from Sherburn in Elmet, near Tadcaster

One of the county's nine Green Goddesses was activated from its base in Church Fenton and one of just four available breathing apparatus teams was sent out from the Imphal Barracks near York.

The police, who are working closely with the Green Goddesses, arrived at the scene to find no fire and began investigations to locate the hoax caller.

Flying Officer Jon English was on duty at the fire service combined control centre at Newby Wiske, near Northallerton. He said: "We knew this was bound to happen and we will deal with these kind of calls just as the fire service would. Sending a Green Goddess out for a hoax call means that it isn't available for life-saving situations."

Sergeant Andy Farrar said the police will prosecute hoax callers, adding that they can trace where calls were made from.

SOUTH-WEST DURHAM

An increase in hoax calls added to the workload of an over-stretched emergency service last night.

Police warned that the calls could be disastrous should a real emergency occur and appealed for people to be more sensible.

Sgt Gavin Musgrave, of Newton Aycliffe police, said extra officers were on duty to act as escorts for the Green Goddess based in the town, but also spoke of the rise in false 999 calls.

He said: "There has been a noticeable increase in the calls compared to what we usually get. This is undoubtedly because of the strike."

He said staff had worked well throughout the night but added: "People should think before they make these calls because there could be disastrous consequences. Our resources are somewhat limited at this time and all calls are being treated as serious.''

Newton Aycliffe's Green Goddess team has to cover both the town and Spennymoor where there would normally be fire engines at each station.

Their colleagues in Bishop Auckland were relatively quiet earlier in the night apart from one false call to Proudfoot Drive on the Woodhouse Close Estate.

Darlington

FIREFIGHTERS remained resolute on calls for a substantial pay rise last night.

About 50 firefighters formed a picket line at 6pm outside the station, in St Cuthbert's Way, beneath a banner calling for fair pay.

The men, along with their families, gathered around a wood burner and cheered and blew whistles, as passing motorists showed their support.

Station officer Richy McArdle said the publication of the Bain Report had made firefighters at Darlington more determined.

"We have 100 per cent support for the strike here. Everybody has seen the report and it has made us more adamant that we are fighting for a just cause. The report is absolutely scandalous and we are adamant that we will not be held to ransom by it."

Firefighter Kevin Harrison, Darlington's union reppresentative, said he believed the majority of the public supported the action.

A Green Goddess was deployed to a car crash at the junction of Thompson Street East and North Road at about 7.30pm but was not needed on arrival.

A crew also turned out in Bedford Street to what was found to be a hoax call.

NORTH DURHAM

THE first call of the night for soldiers at Chester-le-Street proved to be a hoax.

The 23-strong crew in the Territorial Army base in Picktree Lane answered a call to the doctor's sur-gery in nearby Pelton Fell at about 8.30pm.

Station Master Sergeant Eddie Guerin, 36, said: "They were disappointed. This was a distraction.

"Hopefully, had there been a real fire elsewhere at the same time, we would have been diverted.

"But I am very pleased with their response time."

The soldiers, part of 40 Regiment Royal Artillery, are normally based at Alanbrooke Barracks, in Topcliffe, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire. During the strike, they will work in two shifts, eating and sleeping in the TA hall.

Green Goddesses got an early call-out in Tyneside last night. A crew was sent to a portable building on fire in Westminster Avenue, Tynemouth, while a second crew tackled a blaze in a stack of tyres in nearby Jarrow.

The engine stationed in Durham City went to the university after a fire alarm was set off, but the crew returned to base when it emerged there was no actual fire.