Bus services across Preston were halted for nearly an hour after drivers walked out on a wildcat strike.

The Preston Bus routes were halted at 1.30pm for around 45 minutes on Friday after a number of staff walked out in what was thought to be a row over pay and conditions.

Managing director Peter Bell admitted there had been "some disruption" to services, but insisted the problem had been sorted quickly.

He said: "I spoke to my operations director at around 1.50pm and he told me the immediate problem had been sorted, but there has been some disruption."

Passengers using services said that around 35 workers were "sat on a wall" at the bus station while frustrated passengers waited for buses.

Louise Baxter, 35, was travelling home to Ansdell near Blackpool with her three children, aged seven, five and two.

She said: "There are 35 bus drivers sitting on railings near B&Ms. All the buses were parked up, not going anywhere. I've been told they are protesting about sick pay.

"A man in a suit went out to speak to them, but they didn't move or come back to work.

"There are a lot of passengers annoyed and stuck here with no way to get home."

Drivers were tight-lipped about the unofficial strike but said the walkout was about conditions.

One driver said: "It is about management stabbing us in the back. They have cut our conditions - we have lost a lot of money."

Drivers returned to their routes after around 45 minutes, saying the matter was now in the hands of the unions.

A spokesman in the company's union office declined to comment.

Were you disrupted by the unofficial strike? Contact David Coates on 01772 838162 or email david.coates@lep.co.uk

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