GWENT goes on Red Alert from 6pm tonight as firefighters strike for the first time in 25 years.

Only two fire stations out of Gwent's 22 are likely to remain open following the collapse of pay talks between employers and the Fire Brigades Union.

The Abergavenny and Blaenavon stations are partly staffed by retained firefighters who are not members of the FBU.

Emergency cover in Gwent will be provided by RAF personnel crewing 50-year-old Green Goddesses which can travel at speeds of no more than 35 miles per hour and which will have to be accompanied by a police escort.

The personnel will be working to save lives not property. It is not yet known whether any of the 40 Green Goddesses in Wales will be stationed in Gwent.

But given that the area has a higher incidence of fires than most parts of Wales it is likely that there will be some stationed here permanently.

In Newport community wardens will be acting as "fire watchers" and all councils have offered safety advice to the public.

All 999 calls will be diverted to police control rooms where senior fire officers and military personnel will decide on whether or not to deploy a Green Goddess, only some of which are equipped with cutting equipment capable of freeing people from trapped cars. So far no public events have been cancelled.