FIREFIGHTERS' union leader Andy Gilchrist (pictured) rallied hundreds of his members in Newport yesterday.

Fire Brigades Union general secretary Andy Gilchrist addressed the mass rally in the Newport Centre and received a rapturous welcome from strikers who had travelled from all over Wales to hear him speak.

Later, in Chertsey, Surrey, he pledged to return to the negotiating table.

The visit to Newport was part of a whistle-stop tour of the UK which has included rallies in London, Belfast and Glasgow.

Mr Gilchrist opened his remarks by joking: "I don't know about the Six Nations but I feel like I've won the Four Nations in the last 48 hours."

In his speech, punctuated by standing ovations, Mr Gilchrist praised the professionalism of firefighters and called on the government to come up with a better pay offer.

Talks broke down last week after a 11 per cent per cent pay offer phased over two years backed by demands for modernisation was rejected by the union who want a 40 per cent increase. Mr Gilchrist told the packed Riverside Suite:

"You have carried yourselves with amazing dignity in the last 48 hours. Time and again during the last two days we have seen firefighters leave their pickets and scramble into fire engines, risking their lives for no money to save people from fire."

He singled out the firefighters from Newtown in Mid Wales who left their picket to try to save 76-year-old Violet Davies from her burning home, along with military personnel manning a Green Goddess. The pensioner died despite their efforts.

He added: "I know how you must be feeling, I have been there myself. And as your representative I pay tribute to you and say I am proud of you."

On the crucial question of whether an eight-day strike would start next Friday, Mr Gilchrist said there was still time to avert further strikes. But he added that it was up to the government to come up with a better offer.

He said: "It is not unrealistic to demand £8.50 an hour takehome pay for the job firefighters do. This union has always been open to compromise.

"In the summer the employers were going to offer us £25,000 and had that been allowed to be put forward we would not be in this position today. The government stopped that offer and some elements have engineered this dispute. It is now up to the government to come up with a fair offer.

"We are determined to win fair pay for our members. If a reasonable offer is put forward we will return to the negotiating table immediately."

He said the union would not stand in the way of military personnel using red fire engines but warned that they are not properly trained to do so.

l During the 48-hour walkout, seven people died in fires across the UK.