WORKERS from Somerset County Council joined thousands of other local authority staff for a two-day strike in a nationwide dispute over pay in July 2008.

Care workers at disability centres in and around Bridgwater were among staff taking action, claiming pay increases were below the level of inflation.

Nigel Jarman, a steward at the Adults with Disabilities centre, told the Mercury: “Care workers need a substantial pay rise to keep up with the increasing rates of inflation this country is experiencing."

A Somerset County Council spokesman said the council was able to continue delivery of all but a few of its community services.