Fire chiefs in Sussex have opposed government calls to charge for rescuing car-crash victims.

The Government has written to the county's fire authority, "drawing attention" to its power to bill people for non-fire emergencies.

The power has existed for decades but has been enforced only once.

Now guidance sent out by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has alerted every fire authority to their failure to impose call-out charges.

Fire chiefs are allowed to reclaim the cost they have incurred, which could stretch to more than £200 for the worst car crashes.

Bills could also be sent out for actions such as pumping out flooded homes.

One firefighter, who asked to remain anonymous, was aghast.

He said: "It seems that although paying our taxes once we would have to pay again should we require the help of the fire service. Is this really the fire service the public want?

"With six years' experience in the fire service, I don't think so."

However, Des Prichard, East Sussex's chief fire officer, today said there were no plans to introduce the charges.

He said: "We have always had the power to charge but we have no intention at all of doing it.

"I will be discussing the matter with the fire authority in June as we do every year.

"There is a scale of charges, and we do charge for issuing fire certificates, special services such as people being locked out of buildings and maritime incidents.

"But if someone reports a cat up a tree and we get it down, who do we give the bill to?

"You need to get someone to sign to say they are willing to pay. But at critical incidents it would be impossible to find someone able to sign to say they are willing."

A spokesman for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said: "There are already powers in place for authorities to charge for special services that are not directly related to a fire.

"These are not new powers. We are drawing attention to them because they are not being used, to encourage fire authorities to do that."

The threat of charges came as the Government pressed ahead today with the introduction of legislation allowing it to impose a pay deal on firefighters.

It follows the Fire Brigades Union's rejection of the latest pay offer of 16 per cent over three years - raising the prospect of a new wave of strikes.