THE first day of a eight-day long series of firefighter strikes passed without major incident in Bradford, according to West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Contingency fire crews - who are standing in for striking firefighters for four hours daily until next Tuesday - attended two incidents during Monday's industrial action.

A fire service spokesman said crews went to a fire in the open in Low Moor at about 6.15am and a microwave fire in a Keighley flat at about 6.45pm.

Crews also gave advice after a cat got stuck on a ledge in Lidget Green.

In total, across West Yorkshire, crews received 19 calls, 11 of which they attended. The other eight did not require the crews to attend, said the spokesman.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Dave Walton said: "This has been the first day of what will be eight consecutive days when strike action will be taken by members of the Fire Brigades Union.

"Fortunately it has passed without major incident and our contingency crews have coped well with the logistics of dealing with two strikes in such close proximity. The community can help us during this

challenging week by taking extra care in what they do and avoiding the need for any call upon our limited resources."

The strike action was split into two sections - 6am-8am and 5pm-7pm. Crews walked out at the same times on yesterday, and will do again today and tomorrow.

The remaining strike action is: Friday 6am-8am and 11pm-1am Saturday; Saturday 11am-1pm and 11pm-1am Sunday; Sunday 5pm-7pm; Monday 6am-8am and 5pm-7pm.