A toast ban will be introduced in Bradford's hospitals if the fire service decides to go on strike.

Staff and patients will be prevented from making the snack in the event of a walkout by firefighters.

The move will be taken in a bid to cut the number of false alarms at Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's Hospital.

John Damman, director of corporate affairs at Bradford Hospitals Trust, is heading a 12-strong team of people brought together to form a contingency plan in the event of a strike.

"We have a false fire alarm virtually every week in this organisation and we need to reduce the likelihood of this happening," he said. "We are going to institute a complete ban on making toast at ward level because what tends to happen is the toasters cause the fire alarm to go off by creating smoke."

Staff often make toast while doing a night shift for themselves or for patients who wake up and feel peckish.

"During the day people can buy food from the catering department but they won't be able to make toast," said Mr Damman. "We will however make sure that there will be something to feed people if they need it."

The trust has put together a group of people including the hospital's fire officer and people who work on the front line, including doctors, to draw up a contingency plan.

"The key message is that if there is a fire our normal contingency arrangements will be more than adequate. However there is a range of things we need to put in place in addition to reduce the likelihood of false alarms and a fire."

He said measures included waste being removed more regularly and electrical equipment being extensively tested.

"We acknowledge that the support of the fire brigade will be nothing like as quick or as comprehensive as it would normally be," said Mr Damman.

Members of the Fire Brigade Union are voting on strike action over pay and want an increase from £21,500 to £30,000 to reflect their changing role.

The Union is sending out hundreds of letters to businesses in the Bradford district warning them to review safety procedures. Rodney Swailes, head of human resources at Bradford chemical firm Ciba said the firm was working closely with Bradford Council and emergency services on the city's contingency plan.

The site has a chief fire officer and five full time shift fire officers, with 36 staff on the site trained as firefighters.

Geoff Hadwin, safety and environmental manager at A&H Marks chemical company in Wyke, said the strike could suspend part of the business.

"We are drawing up contingency plans ranging from hiring extra equipment to not running certain operations on the day they withdraw services," he said.

Shaun Harvey, managing director of Bradford City FC, said they would not be calling off any matches or limiting the capacity of the ground.

"This is something we are acutely aware of but if the fire service have to give at least seven days notice if they are going on strike," he said.

"If this notice period was put into place then we would have to make alternative arrangements with regard to the club's contingency plans.

"This could involve a number of different things including having more stewards or recruiting externally with people with fire training."