SERVICES across west and north Wiltshire will be thrown into chaos when hundreds of council workers strike on Wednesday.

Unison members at Wiltshire County Council and West Wiltshire District Council are walking out in a national day of action.

Workers will be picketing County Hall in Trowbridge and the district council's offices in Bradley Road.

Only services where withdrawing labour would endanger life or limb will not be affected.

The strike will close day centres, leave schools without teaching assistants, and hit services from social services to planning and environmental health.

Janet Dapson, chairman of the Unison branch at the county council, said: "Staff are not taking this action lightly but they have been brought to their knees by stress from being overworked and underpaid.

"Causing unnecessary suffering is not our aim and we will be maintaining services where life and limb would be at risk."

Between 1,500 and 2,000 county council workers belonging to Unison will be striking.

Mrs Dapson said: "This is not just about pay. People care very much about the work they do but many of those services are only surviving because they are working way over what they are being paid for."

She said around 60 people a month were joining the union in the county and claimed managers had reacted badly to the strike.

She said: "They have put pressure on employees to come in and have told them they will be in breach of contract if they strike, which is untrue.

"We hope this action will show the employers that the workforce is serious and that they have to come back to the negotiating table."

Rosie MacGregor, branch chairman at the district council, said: "We all care very strongly about what we do and we have only reluctantly taken this decision."

Around 100 of the 200 staff belong to the union, and some services such as environmental health will be badly hit by the action.

Union members voted for strike action in a national ballot after pay negotiations broke down.

The employers are offering three per cent. The union wants six per cent.

County council spokesman Sian Penlington said: "We are having meetings to ask for some services to be exempt, and to see where we need to make contingency plans.

"Membership is low here and even if it were a total walkout the effect would not be dramatic."

North Wiltshire District Council will also be affected. Around 160 workers belong to the union.

A council spokesman said other workers would be moved to cover essential services.