Thousands of workers in Wiltshire joined millions of others across Britain on the picket line yesterday in the biggest strike for a generation.

Thousands of schoolchildren enjoyed the day off as teachers from many Wiltshire schools joined the largest strike to hit the country since the 1978 Winter of Discontent.

The strikers were calling for a fairer public sector pension deal than the one proposed by the Government, which they say will leave them working longer, receiving less in their pension and paying greater contributions toward it.

Some council services, including all youth centres and Devizes library and mobile library, ground to a halt with around nine per cent of Wiltshire Council staff on strike.

A rally was held at the Chippenham Sports Club, on Bristol Road, where a group of teachers from Chippenham joined the 100-strong crowd, and another rally was held outside the County Hall council offices in Trowbridge Hannah Packham, area co-ordinator for the National Union of Teachers, said: “Teachers do not strike easily but there is such strong feeling over this issue.

“We know that schools have had to close for the day and that it disrupts education but what is being proposed by the Government will have a much bigger impact on the people who are educating our future generation.”

Civil servants from MoD Corsham joined a picket line at their £800m Westwells base, near Neston. Roy Derrick, branch secretary of the union PCS at MoD Corsham, said: “The Government is freezing pay, cutting jobs and destroying pensions, and sucking money out of the economy of Wiltshire to pay off the deficit caused by bankers.

“We are striking to demand fair pensions for everybody and to call for an alternative economic policy based on collecting the billions of pounds of tax that is evaded and avoided by the super rich and using it to invest in jobs in socially useful projects like housing and transport.”

There was also an impact on healthcare. All X-ray services in Wiltshire’s community hospitals were suspended, while the Royal United Hospital in Bath said there were some delays to its services.

Court hearings, driving tests and scenes of crime investigations were also affected.

At Great Western Ambulance Service a spokesman said a small number of staff had not reported for work due to the strike.

He said the unions, mainly Unison, had reached agreement with management that staff could take part in action while still responding to 999 calls for life threatening emergencies Control room staff, those answering the calls, were handling emergency calls but not certain types of other calls, for example, some requests for an ambulance from other healthcare professionals such as GPs.

The spokesman also said volunteers from St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross were available to assist.

At Wiltshire Police a small number of call handlers, civilian staff who are members of Unison, took part in the strike but a force spokesman said it had not affected its ability to respond to calls. Also a handful of crime scene investigation staff, also civilian staff, were on strike.

Michael Murphy, of the Unison branch at Wiltshire Police, said: “No one wants to strike because they lose a day’s pay and have to work an extra day but members are angry and upset at the changes to the pension scheme.”

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said a handful of office staff were on strike. No fire fighters or fire control staff were on strike.

Twelve children whose schools were closed took part in free football coaching at Devizes Town Football Club, run by local company Inclusion Coaching.

Parent Brian Vanlint, whose son, Luca, took part, used a day’s holiday to take the day off from his job as a warehouse manager.