Firefighters at Sellafield will stage a 24-hour strike two weeks today.

The GMB says that industrial action - in a row over pay - will take place on Monday, July 24.

An offer of a pay increase has been made by Sellafield, but the GMB says it would still leave firefighters' pay nearly five per cent below the combined increase in the inflation rate since 2009.

Members rejected a pay offer from Sellafield in June and voted two to one in favour of a series of strikes.

Firefighters will strike from 6.01am on July 24.

Chris Jukes, GMB senior organiser, said: “Like everyone else in the country who hasn't had pay rises that have kept pace with inflation, GMB's firefighter members at Sellafield need to pay the bills.

"The offer from Sellafield Limited falls short of what's necessary to start making up the ground GMB members have lost to inflation to inflation over the last decade.

"The decision to strike has not been taken lightly and fact that this is the first time that GMB members working as firefighters at Sellafield will have taken strike action tells you all you need to know in this regard."

A Sellafield spokesman said: "We have been notified of the GMB's intention to stage a 24 hour strike on July 24 following the union's decision to reject a five per cent pay rise for Sellafield Ltd firefighters.

"As always, the safety and security of the Sellafield site will be our priority during this industrial action.

"We have a commercial agreement in place with a third party provider to ensure fire safety standards are maintained."