RAIL services between Worcester and the West Midlands were disrupted on Saturday by strike action.

The rail union RMT took action because they say that the train company West Midlands Trains is planning to introduce driver only services.

Following the strike, which lasted all of Saturday, West Midland Trains says that it maintained a regular train service across the region.

But the union said that support for the strike was "rock solid".

A revised timetable was put into operation across the region in order to keep passengers on the move in the run-up to Christmas.

Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde, managing director of West Midlands Trains, said: "I would like to thank our passengers for their patience and understanding as we operated a reduced but robust service in the West Midlands.

"This industrial action is entirely unnecessary. We have never proposed driver-only operation. We are committed to keeping a safety-critical conductor on every passenger train. The action is benefitting nobody and has caused major inconvenience to passengers and businesses.

"I would also like to thank those members of staff who have been in work today, many of whom have made personal sacrifices to help keep as many people as possible on the move.

“More industrial action is scheduled but we remain determined to find a way of resolving this dispute without further disruption and inconvenience for our passengers."

General secretary Mick Cash said: “RMT members are standing rock solid and determined as we fight to put the safety-critical role of the guard at the platform/train interface, and the safety and accessibility of the travelling public, before the profits of the train operator who is looking to play fast and loose with the crucial despatch operation on their services."