Firefighters' strike costs over £600,000

There were 1,106 calls during the 48-hour strike

The two firefighters' strikes will cost people in London more than £600,000 by the end of the November.

Sir John Stevens, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said the amount covered the cost of his officers providing emergency fire cover during the dispute.

The total policing cost for both the 48-hour walkout earlier this month and the eight-day strike which started last Friday was £58,845 a day, he told a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority in London.

The commissioner also told the meeting there was a 14.6% reduction in street crime for October.

Sir John Stevens hopes to get the money back from John Prescott

Giving a breakdown of the police operation since the stoppages began, Sir John said during the 48-hour walkout 1,016 calls had been received at the central control room at Chelsea Barracks, west London, leading to 632 deployments.

These included 88 domestic fires, 20 commercial fires, 78 fire alarms and 17 traffic collisions.

In each 24-hour period, 238 officers working 12-hour shifts were involved in providing fire cover, such as escorts for Green Goddesses and deciding whether the appliances should be sent to a potential fire scene.

Since last Friday until 8am on Thursday, 2,279 calls were received leading to 1,328 deployments.

Outstanding job

These included 109 domestic fires, 17 commercial fires, 192 fire alarms and 37 traffic collisions.

"By the end of November, the fire service dispute will have cost the MPS (Metropolitan Police Service), and therefore yourselves, £616,000," Sir John told MPA members.

"That is something we will be trying to get every single penny back from the Deputy Prime Minister's Office."

Sir John, who praised his officers and members of the armed forces for their "outstanding" job, added that the number of hoax calls had been "very large" in the first few days of the dispute but was now falling.