CRAVEN people from a host of local government professions stayed off work on Tuesday in protest over pensions.

Council workers, teaching assistants, dinner ladies and emergency services support staff were among the Unison members who went on strike demanding that their pensions be protected.

Their present retirement age is 65 but some long-serving workers can retire from 60. The Government plans to remove this right for anyone now under 53.

Social worker Liz Carr, who works with families, joined demonstrators outside Skipton Library on Tuesday.

She said: "I am at that age where I am not going to have any protection. The scheme I signed up to will change dramatically and on a personal level I am going to lose out.

She said it was unfair because the Government had protected the pensions of other professionals such as teachers, police officers and NHS staff.

Mrs Carr said: "Most members are already low paid, mostly women and mostly part-time. We want the Government to get around the table with Unison and look at pensions in a sensible way."

The district council-run Craven Swimming Pool in Skipton was shut, as was the town's Brougham Street Nursery School. Social services staff in Skipton and Settle also took a stance by refusing to come to work. There was peaceful picketing in Skipton outside the library and on Otley Street.

Louise Vardey, head of human resources and performance at Craven District Council, said around 15 per cent of staff had gone on strike.

She explained: "Approximately 40 staff out of a workforce of around 270 took part in the strike action.

"The most significant impact was on Craven Swimming Pool which was closed during the day to ensure the health and safety of the public, although it opened again in the evening. In some other areas we were not able to respond to customer inquiries as quickly as we would normally."

Four members of support staff failed to show up for work at Craven's main police station in Skipton.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said a lot of their support staff were behind the principle of striking to protect their pensions but had come into work because of a sense of duty.

He said: "We did have some who stayed out but, because of contingency plans, there was no disruption to police services."

Pendle residents saw major disruptions to their council services.

Earby and Barnolswick's Council Shops were both closed and the front counter at Barnoldswick police station was also shut. Refuse and recycling collections in Barnoldswick, Earby, Sough and Kelbrook were cancelled and have been re-scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday).