A SECOND postal strike will see 600 postmen and women in East Lancashire walk out tomorrow in a further blow to the service.

Yesterday Royal Mail employees from the mail centre Preston returned to the picket lines for a 24-hour strike.

The strike, following industrial action last week, is under way in Lancashire in a protest over jobs, pay and modernisation.

Post offices and delivery services will operate as normal today, a Royal Mail spokesman said.

But posties and local sorting offices in towns including Blackburn, Burnley, Accrington, Clitheroe, Rawtenstall, Bacup and Nelson will strike on Saturday.

There are fears that the second round of national strikes could lead to chaos in the postal network in the run up to Christmas.

Talks between the Royal Mail and the Commun-ication Workers Union broke down on Wednesday night, leading to the latest strikes, which follows similar action last week.

And CWU general secretary Billy Hayes said: “I can see the strike action increasing now.”

Stuart Caddy from the East Lancashire branch of the CWU union said 600 local workers would walk out on Saturday in a further round of protests.

He said there was a 'strong sense of frustration' caused by the attitude of management over proposed workforce changes.

He said: “We appreciate the problems that a strike will bring and we don't want to harm our customers. But we are determined to fight for the future of Royal Mail, and our members.”

Royal Mail said it has prepared for the strikes by getting temporary work-ers and encouraging staff to come to work by crossing the picket line.

Last week they say 20 per cent of postmen came into work.