AS Hampshire's 700 firefighters prepare for their first strike in 25 years today, one man knows the true cost of what their action will mean.

But Wayne Parsons, union pay co-ordinator for Eastleigh, believes his late father would understand why he has to walk out at 6pm this evening putting homes and lives at risk.

Wayne's own father, John, took part in the last national firefighters strike in 1977.

"It was the hardest thing he had to do. My dad struggled to accept the strike," said Wayne who has not taken his own decision lightly.

"Taking strike action is the most heart-wrenching thing we have ever considered. I am speaking as a firefighter and not a union official. Walking out of my station at 6pm will break me."

Wayne and his colleagues hope the public will support their action over the breakdown of pay negotiations. The union has called for a pay increase of 40 per cent. Employers have tabled 11 per cent spread over two years.

Wayne's father died two years ago. The strike in the Seventies cost him his career in the service in the Midlands. Wayne was nine at the time and recalls the impact of the strike on families.

"All I remember was the station and the picket line covered in snow and local people coming in with hot soup, food and presents for the children. Our house backed on to the drill yard and all the kids used to play together. It was like being part of a big family. But the strike ended that.

"Firefighters stopped talking to each other and children were stopped from playing together. Nine months later my dad quit as a direct reults of the friendships breaking down. He couldn't accept the rift.

The thought of that happening now, in 2002, is beyond comprehension. I can't imagine that depth of ill feeling."