North West Ambulance Service paramedics strike in pay row

The ambulance service said it was "extremely disappointed"

Paramedics in north-west England are staging a series of walkouts over pay.

The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) staff who are members of the GMB union are holding two-hour strikes at the start of shifts.

GMB said it was "a last resort" after they had "waited patiently" for the outcome of a job re-evaluation for more than 12 years.

NWAS said it was "extremely disappointed" but plans were in place to minimise impact on patients.

GMB organiser Mike Buoey said members were "reluctantly" striking due to the "pig-headed attitude of NWAS top brass".

He said 90 members in Cheshire and Merseyside took part, while he was awaiting figures for Lancashire and Greater Manchester.

Michael Forrest, deputy chief executive of NWAS, said: "We are unable to say how many staff will be taking action but we do know that there are 135 GMB paramedics rostered to start their shift during [06:00 BST and 12:00] on 18 June.

"We will continue to make attempts to resolve these issues as quickly as possible and would like to assure the public that their safety is our primary concern."

The union said a ballot of members saw more than 84% of voters in favour of industrial action.

It said it had asked for an external body to conduct the job evaluation - which NWAS refused - and an independent review into why the evaluation had taken so long.

The GMB said it would be holding another strike - this time for six hours - on 29 June.