PRISON officers at the Rochester Youth Offending Institution are meeting this morning to decide what course of action to take as thousands of their colleagues across the country went on strike.

The action, in a protest over pay, started at 7am today, and according to the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), it will last for a minimum of 24 hours.

Rochester Governor, John Wilson, said: “Staff are meeting as we speak to decide what course of action they are going to take.

"We have sufficient staffing levels, but are operating on a weekend level, which means there is no work or education for the inmates."

The government said the officers were acting illegally.

The strike is the first national walkout in the association's 68-year history.

The POA, which has 28,000 members, said up to 90 per cent of its members who had been due on duty had joined the strike.