Thousands of Fylde civil servants are set for a two-day walk out later this month as one of the Fylde's biggest employers faces strike action.

Nationally, members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCSU) at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have voted in favour of a strike to protest at a possible 30,000 job cuts nationally.

Locally, unions fear that up to 2,000 jobs could go in a major civil service shake-up which is already causing problems for staff in the region - and warned of 'devastating' consequences for the local economy.

Martin Jones, chairman of the union's Fylde Coast and Preston Branch: "We said there would be 2,000 job losses. In fact, 309 of these jobs have already gone. By March 1,000 jobs will have gone. One entire office has already been closed, with work partially transferred to Warrington. That is the frightening scale of the cuts in this area."

Talks are continuing between the Department for Work and Pensions and union bosses in a bid to avert strike action. A further announcement was due to be made yesterday (Wednesday) on which dates have been selected for strike action.

The department says it has contingency plans in place for strike action to ensure that payments are not disrupted.