Reporter Sally Hall became a firefighter for a day to see if she was tough enough to join Sussex's housewives' army.

Sally (below) joined the busiest crew in the south east after The Argus, Brighton, revealed a recruitment crisis for retained firefighters.

Sussex is so short of staff it has launched a special recruitment drive targeting women to fill the gap. There are just 15 female firefighters across the county.

Sub Officer Steve Tomlin of Preston Circus fire station said women firefighters could be just as good as men.

He said: "Women may think it is a sexist working environment, but it isn't like that. They are accepted as part of the team. Working well as part of a team is what matters."

Sally joined in with the firefighters' drill, lifting weights in the PT session, climbing four storeys up a ladder and hauling out the hose.

But she was defeated by the task of picking up a cutting tool and holding it above her head. The tool, used to rescue people from car wrecks, would normally be held at shoulder-height for up to 20 minutes.

She said: "I think I could probably train myself to be able to do the physical tasks - what I would find hard about the job is the responsibility of saving lives - and the risk of losing your own."

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