EU ministers were last night locked in battle over an overtime ban which could cost thousands of jobs in the West and the UK's economy £8 billion a year.

Firefighters, health workers and anyone with two jobs could be affected by moves to compel Britain to adopt the EU's Working Time Directive, which would make working more than 48 hours a week illegal.

The consequences are such that fire crews in North Somerset have warned some services and therefore lives would be put at risk.

The UK has an opt-out, first secured in 1993, but last December MEPs votes by 421 to 273 to scrap it.

The MEPs' rejection came after EU governments had already voted to keep it, sparking last-ditch conciliation in a bid to find a compromise.

The issue does not only affect the UK, 14 other member states now also take advantage of an opt-out.

And with a serious downturn affecting most economies, more countries want to retain the option of exceeding the 48-hour week.

Late last night at least nine countries were blocking any attempt to ditch the opt-out.

The tally of governments led by the UK was more than enough to counter pressure from Euro-MPs.

Independent thinktank Open Europe estimates three million people in the UK work more than a weekly 48 hours and a decision to enforce the directive would be catastrophic for the country's economy.

Ministers were locked in talks late last night and it was unclear whether a way forward had been found.

Avon Fire Service has 224 retained firefighters, many of whom also hold down full-time day jobs. Replacing retained firefighters, who earn on average between £5,000 and £8,000 a year for agreeing to be available for up to 120 hours a week, with 24-hour whole-time cover would be extremely expensive, leading to fears that coverage and reliability would suffer.

Firefighters in Portishead warned the new directive could put safety at risk.

Portishead fire station crew manager Colin Gardner, 56, a full-time electrician, has been a retained firefighter for six years.

The father of two said: "I have a full-time job and work 40 hours a week, so under this new directive I would only be able to give eight hours' service to the fire brigade.

"The majority of stations in North Somerset are run by retained firefighters and this new rule could decimate the number of staff and seriously affect the safety of the people.

"If there are no retained firemen at Portishead, this will mean support will have to come from Avonmouth."

Other industries would also suffer under the ruling as well as anyone who supplemented their income with a second job.

James Sloane, a foreman and steel erector in Dorset, said:"All sorts of things affect our working week, sometimes we get delays that we have to overcome by working longer, sometimes we can sit in our van or a cabin for days due to inclement weather waiting for it to improve and of course we have to work longer to be able to try to recover some of the lost time."

One nursing assistant in Wiltshire, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "I often top up my take-home pay by working extra shifts and overtime."

Open Europe Research Director Mats Persson said: "The decision whether or not to work flexible hours should rest with individuals and families."