Leaders of the Fire Brigades Union have a delayed a decision on the dispute with employers until Monday .

A union spokesman said that the FBU executive would meet again after local government employers meet to discuss their position.

He warned that there could be a "rethink" on the current union position and called on employers to settle the issue "once and for all".

The FBU executive could decide to accept or reject the agreement, renegotiate some of the details, or move towards a fresh ballot for industrial action.

However, it remains unlikely that employers will modify their decision to delay the implementation of a pay rise until modernisation of the fire service is underway.

Meanwhile, wildcat industrial action over pay has this week brought the fire service back to the brink of a full scale strike.

Last year's protracted pay dispute was thought to have been resolved, but local government employers angered fire fighters by refusing to pay the negotiated seven per cent pay rise in full.

An estimated 35 of the UK's 56 brigades were on a work to rule protest on Wednesday - bonfire night - answering only 999 calls.

FBU general secretary Andy Gilchrist and his deputy met with employers' representatives but there was little sign of movement from either side.

"Their vindictive decision has caused genuine fury across the entire fire service," he said.

And the employers insisted they were under no obligation to fund the rise until the Audit Commission had checked that modernisation procedures had been modernised.