Rail strikes: Plans of commuters impacted by December walkouts

Colchester station had fewer train services running on Tuesday as railway workers walked out on strike

The Christmas plans of passengers have been hit in the latest rail strikes across the East of England.

About 40,000 workers in the UK are striking over a dispute with the government and rail companies about job cuts, pay and working conditions.

Rail unions said any pay offer should reflect the rising cost of living.

The BBC has spoken to people across East Anglia who have been affected by December's industrial action.

'Completely wrecked'

Christopher Salmon was going to use the train to visit his friend in Norwich for Christmas

Christopher Salmon said the rail strikes had "completely wrecked" his Christmas plans.

"I had an invitation from a very dear, much-loved friend who I very rarely see," he said.

Mr Salmon has not been able to plan the journey to Norwich because of the rail strikes, and says he cannot go "without knowing whether there's going to be a train link or not".

He said he did not have a car, could not afford a taxi and "can't rely on buses" either.

"I haven't seen my friend for a very long time and she's housebound. It's really rather sad because I was going to cook her a dinner and celebrate the whole thing," he said.

He said he would be "on my own" at Christmas, but he did have "support" for the strikers.

"They've got to do something, and they can't do it in the middle of the summer because it would have no effect. Now is the time to do it," he said.

'A lot of stress'

Summer Kelly booked her December train ticket back to Cambridge at the start of November, but last week it was cancelled

University student Summer Kelly has been trying to book a train back to Cambridge after her ticket from Manchester to Ely was cancelled.

She said there were "no other options for me to get back to Cambridge".

"I've had to book different trains," she said.

"It took me a good couple of hours to find a train that was anywhere near the vicinity of Cambridge itself."

• When are the train strikes and what is the dispute about?

• Rail strikes: Passengers warned not to travel by train next week

She said the new train she had paid a ticket for goes to Coventry, which was "still quite far away from where I was originally heading".

Ms Kelly said she knew "so many people" affected and it was putting their parents "through a lot of stress because they've got to drive all the way up here and a lot of them live quite far away".

"I completely understand where the strikers are coming from, but I think something needs to be done so that this isn't happening throughout the Christmas period and people can't get home for Christmas," she said.

'Very sorry'

People have been advised to avoid using trains, said Juliette Maxam from Greater Anglia

Juliette Maxam, from Greater Anglia, said the train company recognised the strikes were "inconvenient" for customers and was "very sorry".

"We are only able to run a tiny fraction of our normal services, and so we've advised people to avoid using our trains, and they've stayed away," she said.

She said Greater Anglia was trying its "utmost" to make sure people knew when strikes were taking place and when normal services could not run.

"I think everybody wants these strikes over, and we know that the rail industry and the unions are continuing to talk to try and reach a resolution which will be for the benefit of everybody - our customers, our staff and the wider economy," she said.