Up to 2,000 workers from the Unison and Unite unions are thought to have downed tools in Peterborough after rejecting a 2.45 per cent pay rise, which they say is tantamount to a cut in wages with inflation running at just under four per cent.

Hardest hit is refuse pick-ups, with only green recycling bins being emptied on anything like a normal basis. Black rubbish bins and brown organic waste bins are not being collected and should be removed from the pavement and put out again tomorrow, unless residents are otherwise instructed by the council.

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Drivers and loaders were also refusing to do their normal rounds in the Fenland District Council area today, with union leaders claiming 18 out of 19 refuse trucks had not left their depot.

The council said it would nevertheless maintain some sort of service and hoped to collect household waste bins today, although brown and green bins would not be emptied.

Fenland branch secretary of Unison Dawn Sadler said the binmen were being supported by environmental health officers, administration staff, and workers in council One Stop Shop centres in Whittlesey, March, Chatteris, and Wisbech, which were closed or had services disrupted.

She said: "The reality is that with inflation running at four per cent and the price of food and fuel going up, the offer of 2.45 per cent from the employers is not enough.

"We are very sorry at having to disrupt services and refuse collections having to be postponed, but we are taking strike action as a last resort. We don't want to lose two days' pay, but unfortunately we feel we have no choice."

Among Peterborough schools, only Hampton College was forced to close because of a shortage of support staff, and it will remain shut again tomorrow.

Council-run school buses ran as normal this morning, but Local Link bus services to destinations such as Peterborough District Hospital and the Queensgate shopping centre were running on a reduced timetable.

The housing options service desk at the customer service centre in Bayard Place was closed today, but the cash office and call centre were due to operate as normal. The city's libraries, sports services and bereavement services were not thought to be affected.

Outside the city, Cambridgeshire County Council said no schools were closed because of the action, which it said was having "minimal" impact on services. Spokesman Glenn Thwaites said: "Thanks to our good working relationship with the trade unions, we expect the impact of the strike to be minimal."