Firefighters were called to more than 20 incidents during a 24-hour strike which ended this morning (Friday).

Members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) walked out at 9am yesterday for the first day-long strike in a series of industrial action over changes to pensions.

The first call was received at 9.41am to help two children locked inside a home in Ely. Firefighters were also called to help an adult stuck in a toilet in Werrington.

In Huntingdonshire, fire crews were called to a care home in St Neots Road, Eaton Ford, at 6.18pm but turned out to be a false alarm. Firefighters were back in St Neots at 7.58am today to a car fire in Little End Road but the fire was out by the time a crew arrived.

There were also two false alarms in Church Lane, Papworth Everard, at 12.58am and at 2.07am.

Chief fire officer Graham Stagg said: “This was the longest strike called by the FBU in this latest period of industrial action but our resilience arrangements to provide fire cover to the communities of Cambridgeshire held up despite a number of 999 calls.

“Unfortunately we did encounter a number of 999 calls to outdoor fires which could have been prevented, and therefore ahead of the next strike on Saturday, June 21, we would urge residents to really bring fire safety to the forefront of their minds.

“Our firefighters took a difficult decision to participate in the industrial action. They showed great professionalism when handing over the fire engines to resilience crews to allow them to provide a service to the community during the strike.”

The next strike takes place on Saturday, June 21, between 10am and 5pm.