STAFF at Redditch Magistrates Court hit the picket line in an ongoing dispute over pay.

Fifteen of the 20 workers at the Grove Street court did not turn in for work on the Tuesday before Christmas.

The strike, the first the 800-year history of British magistrates, was part of a nationwide one-day walkout over pay organised by the Public and Commercial Services Union and sister union Prospect.

Staff, including justices', clerks and legal advisors, were protesting against a salary increase of 2.2 per cent, below the rate of inflation.

Branch chairman of the Public and Commercial Services Union Kevin Greenway said: "We do not want to have to strike. We are not traditionally a militant area but the staff felt very angry about this matter."

He said that about 80 per cent of the staff in the West Mercia region had voted in favour of the walkout.

"The strike was a resounding success," he said.

All hearings at the court scheduled for December 20 were adjourned to a later date.