THE dispute crippling Arriva trains was plunged into farce last night after it emerged striking conductors had been asked to take on cleaning duties.

Union chiefs said guards had been asked to replace used toilet rolls on carriages as part of a raft of conditions aimed at boosting productivity.

Staff yesterday staged a second 48 hour walkout in the pay dispute leading to two thirds of Arriva Trains Northern services being cancelled.

Stan Herschel, the Rail Maritime and Transport workers union North-East regional organiser, said: "They want us to put replacement toilet rolls on Trans-Pennine trains which will earn conductors an extra 2p a day.

"That is clearly ridiculous."

RMT members were ready for a long drawn out strike in their battle with Arriva with support "100 per cent solid", he said.

Last night Arriva attempted to brush the toilet roll claim aside, with a spokesman urging the union to "stick to the key issues".

Earlier in the day Arriva managers were drafted in to cover for some strikers and longer carriages were laid on, but many commuters and other travellers were still left stranded.

Arriva Trains Northern managing director Euan Cameron said the RMT had lowered its demands for a pay rise, but condemned the strike as ''unreasonable''.

The union had originally wanted a 42% pay rise to take conductor's wages up to £22,000 but that figure had now fallen to £18,000 or about 15%, he said.

The company maintains that its offer to raise the basic pay of conductors from £15,5000 to £16,760 is ''fair'' with an extra five per cent on top based on productivity gains. It is willing to bring the conciliation service Acas into the dispute in a bid to find a breakthrough.

The Strategic Rail Authority also added to the pressure on both sides to solve their differences.

It said the strikes were a "disaster" and the current situation needed to be resolved urgently.

Dr Holyoake said: "People should seriously consider having their child vaccinated with MMR. Measles can cause deafness or encephalitis, which can be fatal."

While MMR vaccination figures in the North-East are near the average there has been a recent dip.

County Durham and Darlington Health Authority has seen MMR uptake rates tumble from 94.7pc in 1996 to 89.9 per cent.

Tees Health Authority recorded an uptake rate as low as 77.6 per cent in the quarter ending June last year although the most recent figure is up to 81.4 per cent.

In North Yorkshire rates for two year olds are currently at 85.1 per cent.

Suzanne Davenport, from Northallerton who is considering having separate injections for her one year old son Christopher said: "There is a real crisis of confidence in the triple vaccine. Tony Blair should tell us whether he has given it to his son and people should be given a choice."