By John Kaponi

London is bracing itself for new strife amongst its fire fighters following the breakdown of talks between the FBU and the London Fire Brigade over the issue of cut's in pay of watch managers by up to two thousand pounds a year.

Local firefighters are furious at the decision, which comes in the same week fire crews were publicly praised for their actions during the London bombings three years ago.

The dispute centres on 380 watch managers moving from what was known as an officer "rank" to a new manager "role". But the move will lead to staged pay cuts of up to Pounds Sterling 2,000 a year.

Under the terms of a national agreement, London Fire Brigades top bosses can prevent this, but are refusing to do so. Talks set for this Friday have been abruptly cancelled by senior managers fuelling anger among fire crews.

London experienced strikes at its fire stations in January 2002 when the FBU staged an eight day strike over pay, which paralysed London with the FBU demanding a 40 per cent increase in pay.