South Yorkshire bus drivers on first 24-hour strike

Bus drivers in parts of South Yorkshire have staged the first of four planned strikes.

Unite union members working for Stagecoach South Yorkshire took part in a 24-hour strike at Barnsley and Rawmarsh depots in a pay dispute.

Stagecoach said most daytime bus services would still run in Barnsley, Rotherham and the Dearne Valley.

Phil Brown, regional officer for Unite, said: "The response from the membership is strong."

Mr Brown said 98% of drivers at the two depots went out on strike.

"We are available to talk, but at the moment Monday's strike is going ahead," he added.

As well as on Monday, further strikes are planned for early December.

Stagecoach said it was running a near-normal level of service between 07:00 and 18:00 GMT on Friday.

A reduced level of services was to run after 18:00.

All school services would operate as normal on each of the planned strike days, Stagecoach said.

The company said it had drafted in about 100 extra drivers to keep services running.

Services in Sheffield and Chesterfield and those operated by Stagecoach East Midlands in south Rotherham and Doncaster would run as normal, the company said.