A SIX-DAY shutdown of the Tyne and Wear Metro, due to start today, was called off last night.

Union leaders struck an 11th-hour deal with the network operator, Nexus, averting a proposed six-day strike.

It ends a long-running dispute over pay and conditions between 22 key control room staff on the system and network bosses.

Unison, the union representing the 22 workers, last night accepted a £100,000 package for its members. The deal is said to be worth 15 per cent in pay rises and backdated pay.

A spokesman for Nexus said: "Nexus is absolutely delighted that the strike action has been called off.

"We can look forward now to running a normal Metro service for our customers."

The two sides had agreed a pay package on Tuesday, but could not agree a set of improved conditions for workers, on issues such as holidays and shift patterns.

Company bosses had been preparing to go back to the floor and man the control centre, in a bid to head off a complete shutdown of the network.

Unison confirmed it was happy with the overall pay deal, but said that some lower paid workers would only be £400 better off.

Jack Pennie, Unison branch chairman, said they had exhausted both sides of the argument and come to a compromise.

"It is about the best we can get without actually having industrial action."

He added: "Six days would have really inconvenienced a lot of people in the North-East. It would have been a big gamble and we could still have come away with very little."

Unison members were not unanimous in calling off the action. But Mr Pennie said the control room staff were pleased for the thousands of passengers who use the system daily.

"All the people in the control room are there for the passenger, to operate a safe system, and we are happy for the passenger," he said.

He felt the dispute had been aggravated by major management changes at Nexus.

"Part of the difficulty was that their team changed mid-way through the negotiations," he said. "One positive thing to come out of this is that we have got a new management team in place."

The two sides are already planning further negotiations on pay and conditions for Metro workers, due to start in March next year.