"PEOPLE say this is a glamorous job, but when you have to rescue someone from a car that's hit a tree at 2am in the morning, it's not so glamorous."

Leading firefighter Carl Horsburgh of Worcester Fire Station's Blue Watch says he does not want to strike but feels he now has no option.

The 38-year-old has been a firefighter for 20 years, including eight as leading firefighter, but earns just £24,000 a year.

He has four children, aged 15 months to 17 years old, to support, and relies heavily on his partner's income to make ends meet.

Despite being responsible for the health and safety of his crew, he earns just £2,500 a year more than them.

However, he is as angry about their pay as he is about his own.

"There are some firefighters on my watch who rely on family credit, which is a poor state of affairs," he said.

Mr Horsburgh says the constant talk in the Press about the popularity of the job is also misleading.

"We do get a lot of applicants for jobs within the service, and it does look glamorous to the outsider looking in, but that soon gets knocked out of you.

"The novelty soon wears off. I've been to incidents where colleagues have been killed - that brings it home to you.

"If we arrive at a scene where people are reported to be trapped inside a burning building, we have to go inside.

"We're just looking for a better reward for the job we do."

Mr Horsburgh admits the 40 per cent pay demand seems a lot, but believes firefighters are worth £30,000 a year.

He also dismisses the findings of the Bain Report.

"We've embraced change and started to modernise. We've been doing some of the report's proposals for a couple of years.

"My job 20 years ago was completely different. I wasn't going into schools or people's homes to give fire safety education."

He says he has a big problem with striking but says it is a last resort for all firefighters.

"I've also got a big problem supporting my family. I don't think there's one firefighter that wants to strike.

"My family are residents in Worcester - I'm withdrawing fire cover for them too."