FIREFIGHTERS cut free a trapped motorist from a car yesterday evening, just minutes before their strike began.

Fire crews were called to the northbound section of the A467 Risca bypass, near the Risca roundabout, after a three-car crash at 4.45pm.

After cutting a 43-year-old woman from Pantside, in Newbridge, free from the Seat car, the crews returned to their stations - to begin their 48-hour strike over pay at 6pm. Three fire crews attended after the Seat was in collision with a green Peugeot estate and a Vauxhall Cavalier.

The woman and her 52-year-old husband were taken by ambulance to the Royal Gwent Hospital, in Newport, suffering from suspected whiplash injuries. No-one in the other vehicles was hurt.

The crash caused long delays for rush-hour motorists, with police clearing debris to re-open the road at 5.35pm.

Police Constable Andrew Winfield, from Risca police, who was at the scene, said: "The fire service gave an excellent response, as always." An ambulance was also in attendance.

Most fire stations across Britain locked their doors at 6pm as firefighters and members of their families manned picket lines to protest over pay.

Len Morgan, a leading firefighter at Newport's Maindee station, said: "The mood is very despondent and we are very angry that lives are being put at risk by this strike." Emergency fire calls from Gwent are temporarily being processed at the South Wales Police HQ at Bridgend.

In the first 12 hours of the strike the centre received 84 calls across South Wales, most of which were false alarms.

A Green Goddess manned by the armed services was called into action from Raglan Barracks, Newport, to deal with a car fire at the Tregwilym industrial estate, Rogerstone, at 10.16pm.

The fire was quickly brought under control and no-one was injured. Green Goddesses attended 13 incidents across South Wales, and Breathing Apparatus Rescue Team (BART) vehicles were called out three times.

The centre handled seven calls believed to be hoaxes. A spokeswoman for South Wales Police said: "There was not really an increase in the number of hoax calls overnight. The message has got through that we will investigate and prosecute anyone making these kinds of call."

Meanwhile, Fire Brigade Union general secretary Andy Gilchrist will visit Newport on Friday.

The man at the centre of the strike is speaking to union members at the Newport Centre at 3pm.

The Gwent speech, which is not open to the public, is part of a whistle-stop tour of the UK by the union boss.