A FORMAL agreement has been reached in the dispute over fire service crewing levels in Lancashire.

After weeks of talks between the chief fire officer and Fire Brigades Union officials, a way forward to avoid strike action has been agreed.

Bosses wanted to reduce crew numbers from five to four on each appliance to free up men to tackle fire prevention.

They have now agreed to keep number to five wherever possible.

The agreement was reached yesterday afternoon.

Chief fire officer Peter Holland said: "I am extremely pleased that we have reached such a positive conclusion.

"We have always maintained that we did not want our firefighters to strike.

"This agreement will allow us to move forward in a way that benefits the service as a whole."

Lancashire FBU secretary Steve Harman added: "Throughout the discussions we have tried our best to come to an agreement that suits both our members and the service. I am pleased that we have been able to do that and that industrial action has been averted."