Go North East strike: Cafe losing £2,000 a week as ballot opens on improved pay offer

• Watch Katie Cole's report

A continuous bus strike has cost a cafe around £2,000 as workers prepare to vote on an improved pay deal.

A total of 1,300 members of the union Unite at Go North East have been on a continuous strike since 28 October over pay and working conditions.

Workers have now been balloted on a new pay offer after negotiations between union chiefs and company bosses on Monday which could bring an end to the strike if accepted.

Around 175,000 journeys would usually be made on Go North East every day but the network has largely ground to a halt with a limited skeleton service operating on some routes.

Chester-le-Street has been hit more than most with the bus company operating the majority of the town's services. One cafe has lost almost £2,000 a week as a result of the strike with many regulars unable to get into town.

"We are always busy as a coffee shop," explained Debbie Brown from the Coffee Bank. "Most people queue, you can't get a seat.

"But now there are seven tables left empty and this is our peak time.

"A lot of them are on their own they are at home and it is winter. It is a hard time of year for a lot of people so if they can't get out they will be going stir crazy."

Other business owners have noted that Chester-le-Street has been left feeling like a "ghost town".

"It's Christmas time, it's a busy time but it's at the moment it is really dead as everyone is stuck at home," said Palminder Kaur from Angel Brow and Beauty. "It's a ghost town honestly without buses people can't come out."

Go North East have said their previous pay offer would make their drivers the best paid in the region.

The ballot on the new offer closes on Friday morning.

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