NURSES' NO TO PAY DEAL

Strikes could go on til Xmas

- JOHN STEVENS and BEN GLAZE

NURSES are preparing for a new wave of strikes that could last until Christmas after rejecting the Government's pay offer.

The Royal College of Nursing will stage a 48-hour walkout in a fortnight that will include staff in A&E departments and cancer units for the first time.

The strike action will take place from 8pm on Sunday, April 30 to 8pm on Tuesday, May 2 - so includes the Bank Holiday Monday.

The country's largest nursing union will then hold a vote of members on a further six months of possible strikes across England.

These may be timed to coincide with industrial action by junior doctors, maximising disruption.