MORE than 300 shopfloor workers walked out of Thorn Lighting's Spennymoor plant yesterday in protest at a two per cent pay deal.

Members of the AEEU engineering and electricians' union had been balloted on the offer, which would be backdated to July.

The four-hour strike will be repeated each Wednesday unless agreement can be reached with the company, which has shed 250 jobs in the past 12 months.

One worker, who asked not to be named, said: "We have been treated badly for a long time.

"A lot of us have worked there for years and they are not rewarding loyalty. That is the general feeling."

Company spokesman Hugh King said that operations at the plant were unlikely to be affected by the action.

He said: "We feel that the offer is fair and we are very disappointed that this has happened in the present economic climate

"At the moment, there is a reduction in the order book at the plant and there has not been a great deal of overtime on offer.

"It comes at a time which is quite important to us. This is the best opportunity for quite a few years to secure a good future for Spennymoor.