Female firefighters in Kent made to strip to underwear in front of male colleagues, union says

Firefighters in London. The FBU has written to the official inspector to demand an end to the practice at Kent fire and rescue service. Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/Alamy

Female firefighters are being forced to strip down to their underwear in full view of their male colleagues and the wider public, in an “unnecessary, degrading practice” being enforced by an English brigade, their representatives have said.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU), frustrated at what it sees as “chronic management inaction”, has written to the official inspector to demand an end to the practice at Kent fire and rescue service.