Sussex fire crews have launched unofficial industrial action in support of suspended colleagues.

Firefighters based at Lewes and Preston Circus in Brighton decided not to answer non-emergency calls, despite not having the backing of an official union ballot.

They were supporting 19 firefighters in Salford, Greater Manchester, who were suspended for refusing to use new anti-terrorist equipment.

Their suspensions sparked unofficial industrial action across the UK.

Urgent talks are being held after the action threatened to reignite a national strike.

Firefighters believe they should have been given a 3.5 per cent pay rise for new duties and training with the Incident Response Unit (IRU) equipment.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service has its IRU at its Eastbourne headquarters. The equipment is designed to decontaminate 2,000 people an hour in the event of a terrorist attack.

The technology was introduced as part of a modernisation programme which sparked official strike action across the country in 2002/3.

Employers and unions eventually reached a deal, with firefighters agreeing with the programme in return for a staggered pay rise.

But they protested yesterday at the failure of the fire service employers to pay the first instalment, a 3.5 per cent rise, last November. A further 4.2 per cent increase is due to be introduced on July 1.

Christina Jebb, chairwoman of the fire service employers, said the latest unofficial action would put lives at risk.

Sub Officer Grant Eager, of Blue Watch at Preston Circus, said crews would still answer emergency calls but were refusing to carry out routine training and administrative work.

He said: "We all felt our colleagues in Salford deserved some support. We've all gone along with what was introduced after the last dispute but we haven't been paid for it. Enough is enough.

"It can't be sanctioned by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) because what we're doing is technically illegal without a ballot.

"We could face losing money or our jobs. But the union understands the feelings of the firefighters and we all feel strongly enough to go ahead with this."

Sub Officer Rob Martin, of Green Watch at Lewes, said: "We're servicing all our equipment to keep it functional but we're not carrying out courses and training or doing the administrative tasks which we'd usually do each day.

"This has come out of the blue a bit but no one here was against the action. We've jumped through every hoop the employers wanted but we keep getting knocked back. Morale is low."

The row centres on "stand-down" time, when firefighters are on call during the night for emergencies but do not carry out safety duties or training.

Employers said the FBU had walked out of talks, though both sides were holding their own discussions last night.

The FBU has accused employers of trying to make last-minute changes to June's deal and warned its 55,000 members could be balloted again for fresh industrial action.

A spokeswoman for East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said: "We are hopeful the situation will be resolved as soon as possible."

A spokeswoman for the service in West Sussex said none of the county's crews had joined the unofficial action.