SUPPORT has been growing in Basingstoke for the fire station cook whose job could be given the chop.

Margaret Lowther, 62, says strangers have been approaching her in the street to offer sympathy after it was revealed that she and the other 11 station cooks across the county are in danger of losing their jobs.

She said: "There has been a lot of response to the story. People have been coming up to me asking if I am the woman in the paper and some other people came to the door of the fire station asking if they could sign the petition to help us keep our jobs."

On Friday, a key committee of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority will consider a report that recommends the old system of cooks is done away with.

It says there is no statutory requirement for the fire service to provide cooks or kitchens and raises the possibility of instead providing a fridge and a microwave oven for firefighters to use for themselves.

The report says that compliance with updated food safety regulations would require cooks to be on site 24-hours a day and to take greater responsibility for food from the point of purchase.

The report also recommends the current system of one firefighter buying food and cooking it for the others at nights or weekends (and receiving three hours of overtime) should be abolished because of non-compliance with the food regulations. It further states that providing facilities for a cooked breakfast for firefighters at 9am before they go off-duty can no longer be justified.

The report's authors admit their recommendation goes against the views of the Fire Brigades Union and the union Unison.

The petition to save the cooks' jobs was put together at one of two meetings they have held in the past month, with the Fire Brigades Union and Unison.

In a joint statement accompanying the petition, the cooks said: "Firefighters must remain as a crew throughout their entire shift and must remain within a few seconds of their fire engine ready to be mobilised at any time.

"Fire station cooks are an integral part of the fire service and ensure that firefighters are fed and watered properly in readiness for their next call."