Fire Brigade union officials have decided to suspend their first two strikes following internal meetings, it was announded today.

The move follows "constructive" talks on Friday with Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

The Fire Brigades Union wants a 40 per cent pay rise to take an experienced firefighters' pay up to £30,000.

Officials spent all of Saturday in closed meetings before making the decision to suspend the first strikes.

The union will hold further talks with local authority employers on Wednesday and Thursday.

But the union warned that if no progress was made strikes planned from 6 November onwards would go ahead. The 48-hour strikes had been due to take place from Tuesday until Thursday, and from next Saturday until the following Monday.

There is speculation the government had signalled it would improve a rejected offer of four per cent before an independent pay review in December.

And the review head Sir George Bain is also likely to be asked to bring forward certain elements of the review to aid an end to the strikes.

Meanwhile, a new poll has suggested that 80 per cent of people oppose strike action and want fire crews to man stations until a pay review reports back in mid-December. The poll was published in Saturday's Daily Telegraph.