Residents could tackle district's fires if strike gets go-ahead

Members of the union are currently in a dispute with the Government over changes to its pension scheme which, it argues, are “unaffordable and unworkable”.
Ballot papers have been distributed nationally to all members of the union, to vote for or against strike action, and the deadline for submissions is August 29.
If a strike goes ahead, the district could be left short of firefighters and contingency plans are currently being considered by the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
A spokeswoman for the service, Nicole Targett, said: “The Fire Brigades Union is in a national dispute with the Government over changes to the pension scheme.
“The authority has a statutory duty to prepare a range of contingency plans.
“These include the possibility of using recently-retired firefighters and members of the public trained in support roles.
“However, until the full details of any potential industrial action are known, it is not known what extent of cover will be needed.
“We will issue full details as soon as we have them.”
p Strike action is also on the cards for Royal Mail as the Communication Workers Union announced last week that it would send out a ballot if an agreement failed to be reached over jobs, pensions and other issues linked to the privatisation of Royal Mail.
A statement released by Royal Mail reads: “Talks are on-going between Royal Mail and the CWU and we are committed to seeking an agreement.
“We believe that a ballot on strike action is inappropriate.
“Disrupting the service Royal Mail provides to its customers is not helpful.”