CHESHIRE Fire bosses are encouraging residents to 'take extra care' during the firefighters' strike which takes place today, Wednesday.

Members of the Cheshire Fire Brigade Union will be walking out between 12pm and 4pm in a national row over pensions.

But a spokesman for the service said it expects to have 'at least 60 per cent of its usual emergency response capacity available'.

He added: "Cheshire Fire is confident it is prepared to handle the upcoming industrial action.

"We do have plans and procedures in place that will enable us to continue to protect the communities of Cheshire during the four hour strike period.

"We expect to be able to respond to incidents as we normally would however as we do have less fire engines available we would encourage everyone to take extra care during the strike.

"We would also advise people and businesses to avoid doing anything that could increase the risk of a fire breaking out."