TRAFFIC has been held up for hours on a Barrow road today after the bin strike heated up.

Trucks trying to access the Salthouse Road depot could not get past striking workers who were protesting with placards at the entrance to the depot.

And police were called to the scene in order to defuse the tension and direct traffic.

A spokesman for Cumbria Police said: "Police have been made aware of a disagreement between parties involved in industrial action at a site in Salthouse Road, Barrow.

"Officers are attending to offer advice and to attempt to minimise any disruption to traffic."

Organisers from GMB Union said the workers were exercising their legal right to demonstrate.

They explained rubbish from the trucks was disposed of at a different location in Barrow and the trucks are capable of fuelling up on Abbey Road if required.

The strike is affecting more than 33,000 Barrow households. It began on Wednesday and ends on Friday before - and will return the same days next week.

Bosses at the bin collection company have offered workers a 2.2 per cent rise, which GMB Union says is a real-terms pay cut.

They have asked for three per cent.

According to polls running on The Mail website, 39% of respondents had their bins emptied as normal.

40% of unique respondents claimed that they supported the strikes.

However, the workers were receiving a lot of praise from passing traffic - with beeping horns and even cheering as motorists passed.

A spokeswoman for FCC Environment said: "Our focus remains on collecting waste with as minimal disruption as possible but we would like to place on record that we are grateful for the hard work and dedication of the FCC team who are supporting us with task in hand.

"Whist the action disrupts services, we ask that residents present their refuse on their collection day but that they leave it out as we may be running slightly behind in some areas.”

Read more about the strike here.