AMBULANCE staff were on the picket line from dawn till dusk in Lydney last week as part of the national walkout over pay and working conditions.

Members of workers’ unions who work out of Lydney Ambulance Station were joined by supporters from local campaign group Enough is Enough FOD as they took part in planned industrial action on Wednesday (January 11).

Some 25,000 ambulance workers, who are members of Unison and the GMB Union, walked out across England and Wales as part of the ongoing dispute with the government.

Several staff members were striking in Lydney but made sure they were listening out on their radios so that they were able to respond to category one and two calls.

Former Lydney Town Councillor and Enough is Enough organiser Louise Penny joined them for the picket, along with fellow former councillor and group member Steve Stockham.

More people joined them in the evening and Louise said there was lots of support from locals throughout the day, with horns beeping and people waving, and one person even stopped and bought them pizza.

On the picket line, the staff spoke of the pressure of being stuck outside Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for hours at a time, because of the pressures on other hospital staff.

Campaign group Enough is Enough FOD was set up recently to support industrial action in the public sector in the local area.

The group aim to support workers by sharing information and links for people to donate to strike funds on social media, as well as generally helping out on the day when strikes happen.

Louise said: “I’m particularly concerned about the state of our NHS and the pressures our NHS staff are under - especially as I have a child with a disability - the conditions they are working in and the lack of respect from the government.

“People are under such awful financial pressure at the moment and workers striking haven’t been given pay rises for years, yet inflation rises and bankers and politicians get pay rises and bonuses.

“These are key workers and so many are not being treated as such by the conditions they’re expected to work in and the pay they receive, from this government.”

Steve added: “Our hard working and diligent ambulance crews and paramedics support Lydney residents and visitors 24/7 throughout the year so I am delighted to have the opportunity to support them in their fight for better the pay and conditions that will enable them to continue providing us all with their outstanding service to our community.”

With further strike action planned for next Monday (January 23), the group will be out on the picket line once again, this time at Cinderford Ambulance Station.

For more information, search ‘Enough is Enough! Forest of Dean & Beyond branch’ on Facebook.