Bradford postal workers have voted for industrial action which could lead to a strike, causing postal chaos across the district.

They are angry after 170 workers were moved to a new £3.7 million delivery office in Valley Road - half a mile away from the head office in Forster Square.

Staff claimed the new delivery office was like "being on Mars" because it was so isolated and inaccessible.

A ballot of 290 members of the Communication Workers' Union showed 105 out of the 165 who voted were in favour of industrial action.

If a strike goes ahead, it would affect the delivery of mail across the district from BD2 to BD12 which covers Undercliffe, Leeds Road, Girlington, Idle, Eccleshill, Heaton, Manningham, Wibsey, Odsal, Great Horton and Bierley.

Eddie McTigue, CWU Bradford branch secretary, said: "We are pleased we have support among the workers and it was a positive result. At the new Valley Road site, three to one workers voted in favour of industrial action and at Forster Square it was one-and-a-half to one.

"We will have a meeting with management today and we are hoping to reach some sort of settlement.

"We will organise a meeting of our members in seven days' time and, depending how negotiations are going, will talk about whether a strike is appropriate.

"Our main concern is to try to reach some kind of settlement before deciding whether to take industrial action in whatever form.''

Mr McTigue said that, under union rules, his members would have to get the agreement of national CWU leaders before a strike could go ahead.

Management had made an offer to the affected workers to cover relocation but staff rejected it at an earlier ballot.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We are still hopeful we can resolve this issue and we have had meetings with the union throughout. We hope to avoid a dispute through talks."

Workers who have been based at the new building claim the new Bradford North office is inaccessible by public transport. But Royal Mail said a bus service had been put on to take employees to the site.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.