SCHOOLCHILDREN were sent home, refuse collection rounds abandoned and Social Service centres closed down when hundreds of the county's public sector workers went on strike yesterday.

A Unison spokesman said more than 5,000 workers in Wiltshire were expected to take part in the national strike to protest at low pay.

Members of three trade unions Unison, the Transport and General Workers' Union and the GMB are claiming a six per cent pay rise to raise the minimum wage in local government up to £11,170 a year.

He said: "The people who work for our local councils are amongst the poorest paid in our communities. And, as we all know, they do some of the most important and sometimes the most unpleasant jobs imaginable."

He said women had become the Cinderellas of the public sector. "They educate and feed our children in schools, look after our elderly and vulnerable people, yet they are undervalued and underpaid."

The main impact of the strike in Kennet district was on the collection of household waste.

Council officers had decided not to delay collections throughout the district by calling on households a day late. Instead they opted to miss Wednesday's collection altogether, causing householders to store it until next week.

But despite the efforts of parish councils, many householders were caught unaware by the stoppage.

Peggy Jones, chairman of Market Lavington Parish Council, said: "We only heard about it on Tuesday. Our parish clerk took immediate action and went around putting up notices. But I saw this morning it hadn't stopped people putting out their rubbish as usual.

"It is a one-off situation, not like a public holiday, so I think we can live with it this time."

Pewsey Parish Council chairman, Colin Lampard, said yesterday: "It was not very well publicised. I noticed a lot of people had put their rubbish out this morning. It's going to stink to high heaven by this time next week."

Refuse collection rounds were also cancelled in north Wiltshire when district council staff joined the one-day strike. Ten collection rounds were operating, but two were cancelled a kerbside recycling collection in Wootton Bassett, which will take place in two weeks' time, and the Brokenborough round, which has been delayed by a day.

Some rounds in north Wiltshire will be a day late for the rest of the week.

The strike had little effect on schools and libraries in Kennet, although Devizes Mobile Library did not do its usual tour of duty. Devizes Activity Centre was also closed as was Wiltshire Social Services office at Bath Road.

In Chippenham, the town's library and mobile library were both closed for the day and the Middlefield Resource Centre for adults with learning difficulties was closed because of lack of staff.

The Social Services' Adult Centre office in Malmesbury was also closed.

Schoolchildren were also affected; more than 400 pupils at Kings Lodge Primary School in Chippenham were sent home for lunch because midday supervisory staff had joined the strike.

Wiltshire County Council employs 6,000 staff and about 1,500 are believed to be members of the trades unions involved. The county council calculated that by 10am about 210 members of staff were on strike.

"Our main concern has been ensuring that we are able to provide as many services as possible to the people that need them," a county council spokesman said.

"With this in mind we have met with the trades unions to seek safeguards for essential services."

Pickets outside Kennet council offices in Devizes said they had had a lot of support from passing motorists.

One picket, who did not want to be named, said: "The response has been very heartening. We have had one or two obscene gestures but in the main people have been very supportive."