FIRE authority councillors are giving themselves rises in allowances of between 21 and 40 per cent.

While the members of the Lancashire Fire Authority take the large increases, firefighters' pay rose by 2.4 per cent.

A report to the authority, which oversees and manages the work of Lancashire Fire Service, said the increases were needed to reflect the expanding roles of members.

The Lancashire Fire Brigades' Union backed the move, saying it was necessary to attract people of the right calibre.

An independent review was conducted into the allowances by Prof Alan Mercer, a management science expert from Lancaster University.

He recommended that the allowance for deputy chairman, and Burnley North West county councillor, Terry Burns should increase from £5,085 to £7,255 - a 40 per cent rise.

The allowance for chairman Coun Bob Wilkinson, who represents Haslingden at County Hall, will remain at £14,510.

The Tory group opposition spokesman will see his allowance rise by 25 per cent from £2,902 to £3,628 but the Liberal Democrat spokesman will remain unchanged at the former amount.

The basic allowance will increase by 21 per cent from £2,063 to £2,500.

Councillors take this fire authority pay on top of their allowance for being a councillor, which is about £10,000 mark.

It was calculated that members with no special responsibilities work on average for 17.5 days on their duties each year.

The increases amount to £29,000 in total and the costs will be met from the authority's reserves.

A qualified firefighters is paid around £27,000. A firefighter leading a crew earns just over £30,000, while a station officer can get more than £38,000.

Steve Harman, county secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: "We accept that increases in allowances are necessary.

"It is important that there is the right balance between attracting the right calibre of people and them receiving fair expenses for the commitment that they give."

Coun Burns said that the allowances issue had been independently reviewed and agreed upon.

He added: "It is a very diverse role now and we are one of the largest fire authorities in the country. And we are recognised for our reputation on fire safety."

Coun Burns said the Lancashire brigade had one of the best records in the country for conducting fire safety checks.