Image copyright PA Image caption Services in Darlington, Durham, Redcar, Stockton and Whitby will be affected

Hundreds of bus drivers are set to stage a week-long strike in the run-up to Christmas in a dispute over pay.

About 650 staff at Arriva Durham County in North East England will walk out from December 16 as part of their call for a wage rise of £1 per hour.

The Unite union said drivers in the area are the second-lowest paid among Arriva's nationwide bus operations.

Arriva said it was "in negotiation" with the union and a meeting was planned for Wednesday.

Drivers at Darlington, Durham, Redcar, Stockton and Whitby will walk out at 00:01 on 16 December until 23:59 on Saturday 22 December.

'Token service'

It follows a vote which saw 95% of Unite members back strike action in pursuit of a pay rise backdated to March 2018.

Union official Bob Bolam said: "The last thing our members want is to take such industrial action in the run-up to Christmas as it will cause massive inconvenience to the travelling public.

"Our members have voted overwhelmingly for pay justice and are not prepared to continue to badly lag behind other Arriva drivers in the country doing similar jobs.

"If the strike goes ahead, we don't believe Arriva will be able to run more than a few 'token' bus services."

Arriva and Unite held talks last Friday with further discussion due to take place this week.

A spokeswoman for the firm said: "Arriva Bus is currently in negotiation with Unite regarding a new pay award to Arriva bus drivers in the North East region.

"A further meeting is planned for Wednesday 5 December in an attempt to reach agreement and avoid a strike."