Striking firefighters temporarily abandoned picket lines to take part in a series of rescues across Sussex.

They helped several people trapped in cars after accidents on the M23 and A264 near Horsham and Crawley.

A crew from Crawley went into action to help free a man trapped when his Mercedes overturned on the M23 late on Saturday night.

The car collided with a Renault on the northbound carriageway, near junction nine. Neither driver was seriously hurt.

A Green Goddess was sent to the scene from Horsham, where striking crews were also involved in rescues.

Firefighters left the picket line after hearing a man was trapped in Parsonage Road, close to the town's fire station, on Friday.

A Green Goddess from the town's Territorial Army barracks also arrived at the scene just before 9pm.

The crew found a man trapped with his hand under the wheel of his car.

A Navy spokesman said: "He got his thumb stuck after the jack collapsed while he was changing a tyre.

"The full-time firemen left their picket line and between them, military personnel and an ambulance crew, they managed to lift the car off him."

In Lewes, a crew helped free a mother and daughter trapped in the wreckage of their car.

They temporarily lifted their industrial action to take heavy lifting gear to the entrance of the Cuilfail Tunnel on Saturday.

Neighbour Brendon Parsons said: "When I got there, full-time firemen were helping the Navy to free a woman.

"She was taken out of the car and put on a stretcher before being taken away in an ambulance."

Chancellor Gordon Brown yesterday ruled out a 16 per cent pay rise, just hours after Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott suggested it might be possible.

Mr Brown's intervention brought fresh accusations of mixed signals and confusion among senior ministers.

Mr Prescott had said a three-year deal offering up to 16 per cent fully funded by savings from modernisation was "still worth talking about".

That was dismissed by Mr Brown, who said 16 per cent was "simply not affordable."

Prime Minister Tony Blair was today due to intervene in the dispute with a hastily-arranged TV press conference.

Striking firemen in Brighton called on Mr Prescott to get talks back on track.

Dave Sommers, a fireman at Preston Circus fire station for 12 years, blamed Mr Prescott for scuppering talks that ended in failure on Friday.

He said: "As far as we are concerned, the Fire Brigades Union and the employers had agreed a settlement of 16 per cent.

"We all expected to be doing our normal shifts over the weekend.

"Our job is to help people and to save lives. That is what we are trained to do and that is what we want to do."