SITTINGBOURNE and Sheppey MP Derek Wyatt has hit out at the Labour Government for the way it has handled the firefighters' dispute.

Speaking after visits to picket lines at Sheerness and Sittingbourne at the weekend the Labour MP said he believed firefighters deserved a pay rise of between 11 and 16 per cent.

He said: "I am upset with my Government. The firefighters are on the front line and we ask them to put their lives on the line."

According to Mr Wyatt, he faced a frosty reception when he first arrived at the fire stations, but that they soon sat down to positive discussions.

The issue of modernisation is the biggest bone of contention for the firefighters and Mr Wyatt. He has written to Prime Minister Tony Blair to complain about the way the dispute had been handled. He said: "The firefighters find it hard to understand what more they can do to modernise.

"I would like to see the Government put a list in the public domain with costings alongside. It seems unfair to conduct a PR campaign in the press."