Arriva bus drivers across Kent have voted to take strike action, leaving the possibility that passengers will be stranded without services.

The Unite union balloted around 800 of its members at depots in Gillingham, Maidstone, Gravesend and Tunbridge Wells, as well as staff at its depots in Colchester, Harlow and Southend-on-Sea in Essex, after Arriva offered them a 7.8% pay rise.

An overwhelming majority – 96.5% of drivers – voted in favour of industrial action. The turnout was 83.2%.

The union said Arriva's offer "presented what was effectively a pay cut as though it were a rise." Inflation is currently running at 12.3% as measured by July's Retail Price Index.

Arriva is a subsidiary of a German state-owned company, Deutsche Bahn, and the UK bus division has transferred a total of £560m to the parent company over the past 10 years.

Drivers earn on average £12.12 an hour.

Unite's general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Arriva can well afford to return with a better deal and needs to do so."

She said: "Unite will not stand for employers such as Arriva and Deutsche Bahn, driving down our members’ jobs, pay and conditions so they can keep raking in profits during a cost-of-living crisis.”

No dates for the strikes have yet been set, but the union said it would begin with a series of one-day strikes in the hope of forcing the company to increase its offer. An all-out strike remained a possibility.

Deutsche Bahn is one of the largest transport companies in the world, paying the German government the equivalent of £5 billion in dividends over the past decade.

Unite's regional officer Janet Nobbs said: “Our members aren’t fooled by Arriva’s claims that it has no money.

"Arriva’s workers are increasingly struggling with rising prices – why should they suffer when Deutsche Bahn's coffers are overflowing? Arriva needs to put forward an offer our members can accept.”

Last month, Norman Kemp, the owner of the Nu-Venture bus company, and Michael Jennings, the area head of commercial services at Arriva, both appeared before a joint meeting of Kent County Councillors and borough councillors to explain the difficulties their companies were facing.

Both bosses cited trouble in recruiting and retaining drivers, saying many had been tempted away by higher wages paid for driving delivery lorries or vans.

But they also explained the difficulty of making profits when bus passenger numbers were running at only about 80% of pre-Covid levels.

Mr Jennings said: “Covid has caused the biggest challenge we’ve ever faced.”

Nu Venture is not affected by the strike vote.

A spokesman for Arriva said: "We remain focused on offering a fair and affordable pay deal, as well as ensuring our vital bus services and networks are sustainable across the region."

Unite's Arriva members are currently involved in a continuous all-out strike in the North West of England, while members in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire have also voted for strike action.

A ballot on industrial action by Arriva workers in North London closes on August 26.