STRIKE action brought Wilts & Dorset bus services to a halt on Thursday - and the disruption is set to get worse.

Hundreds of bus drivers across the area went on strike in a dispute over the number of hours bus drivers work without a break.

With no breakthrough in sight, further strikes are planned to go ahead on January 8, 16 and 21.

And with schools due to re-open and more people returning to work, the impact of the next stoppages could be even more severe.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Union said the dispute centred on a demand that shifts should not involve more than four and a half hours' continuous driving.

At Poole Bus Station, up to 30 Wilts & Dorset bus drivers formed a picket line sounding horns.

Some passengers, including the elderly, were forced to ring relatives to transport them to where they needed to go while others used Transdev Yellow buses to get to their destinations.

Some commuters reported seeing queues forming at bus stops for services that were not coming.

In Poole, Matt Miles, 32, visiting family from London, said: "There were a couple of old ladies who had to phone family to come and get them.

"There seem to be a fair few disgruntled people wandering around."

Teenager Steven King said his girlfriend Steph Best had to call her grandfather to drive her to Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, because her usual bus was not running.

Nickolas Vjestica, 56, of Bearcross, said the strike was "inconvenient" as it had forced him to catch two different Yellow Buses to get to his destination.

It will also affect him next Tuesday when he needs to use the buses to reach his diabetic foot clinic he said.

He added: "It's inconvenient. When you think about it, I pay their wages. What about lorry drivers? They drive all day."

Phil Bialyk, regional organiser of the RMT Union, said the strike would continue.

He said: "We are trying to set up a meeting with the company to try and resolve it. At the moment it looks like Tuesday is still on, unfortunately, unless something happens.

"The company is pushing things to the limit."

Wilts & Dorset managing director Alex Carter said that drivers are sometimes required to continuously drive for as much as five and a half hours, but for 83 per cent of the time it was only four and a half hours.

He added: "Our system is basically the same as everybody else.

"We have said to the RMT we are available to meet at any time if they have got any new proposals to put forward.

"I think the public have been inconvenienced as there are a lot of buses missing.

"It has been easier today because a number of the schools haven't returned yet and quite a few people are taking extended New Year breaks. We are keeping the situation updated on our website"

See link below.