HUNDREDS of public sector workers marched through Birkenhead as part of the national strike which brought much of the borough’s public services to a halt.

Schools were shut across Wirral and pickets lined the entrances to council offices as even the authority’s call centre was closed as part of the action over pensions.

With both the Wallasey and Birkenhead tunnels shut, queues developed along the M53 as traffic was diverted away from the tunnel entrance.

Merseytravel said volunteer trade union members were on hand to staff the Kingsway tunnel for access for emergency service vehicles, donating their wages to the Merseytravel staff charity, the Clatterbridge cancer centre. The Mersey Ferries were also off.

Pickets were also highly visible at Wirral’s hospitals with dozens outside both Arrowe Park and Clatterbridge sites, while the Child Support Agency and Land Registry in Birkenhead also saw active picketing.

Most schools except for a handful – mostly offering limited classes – were shut and all Wirral Children’s Centres were closed. Libraries, leisure centres, theatres and council-run museums were also affected, while One Stop Shops and the council’s call centre also stopped for the day.

In Birkenhead hundreds of those on strike joined a march organised by Wirral TUC from Birkenhead Park to Hamilton Square, carrying banners from a range of unions, including Unison, PCS, NASUWT, Unite and GMB.

At Hamilton Square there were speeches from local union leaders and even performance poetry from charity worker and Unite union member Morag Reid to entertain the crowd.

Dave Hurst from the GMB said: “It was not public sector workers who created the financial crisis so why should they have to pay.”

He and other speakers also warned: “Today is not the end of the campaign – it’s only the beginning.”

However, one of the lines to receive loudest support was his criticism of the Labour Party for its “disgusting lack of support” for those taking industrial action.

Others paid tribute to the police who had been attending the march, which also received support from drivers waiting for them to pass by.

From around 300 leaving Birkenhead Park their numbers appeared to swell considerably as more people from picket lines in Birkenhead joined them.