Just two ageing Green Goddesses are expected to be on duty in the city of Bradford if firefighters walk out on strike next week.

The Telegraph & Argus has learned the 50-year-old machines will be based at Belle Vue Barracks in Manningham Lane.

Another two will be based at Thornbury Barracks, Pudsey, as back-up.

They will be manned by military personnel during the walkouts, planned to start on Tuesday.

Two more appliances - which can only reach 35 miles per hour - will be in Keighley town centre.

Members of West Yorkshire Fire Authority were expected to be briefed on strike contingency plans at a special meeting behind closed doors in Birkenshaw today.

Malcolm Peel, regional chairman for the Fire Brigade Union in West Yorkshire, said the figures were worrying.

He said the Green Goddesses were little more than 'water squirters' and said the military was no replacement for professional firefighters.

Cover will also be provided for areas such as Silsden, Haworth, Ilkley and Otley, whose fire stations have retained crews.

In the nine-week walkout in 1977 to 1978, Bradford had three Green Goddesses as part of a 30-strong contingent across West Yorkshire.