HUNDREDS of civil servants across Hampshire were expected to walk out today after voting for industrial action over government plans to axe more than 100,000 jobs nationwide.

The one-day strike, the biggest in a decade, was called by Britain's largest civil service union, the Public and Commercial Services Union.

Nationally, members voted two- to-one in favour of the strike.

They are angry at the planned job cuts and proposed changes to their terms and conditions, sick absence arrangements and the prospect of working longer to receive their pensions.

Five hundred Customs offices working in Southampton were planning to take part in the strike, with members picketing the regional headquarters at Ordnance Survey.

Paul Luffman, union branch secretary, said: "Our members are standing shoulder to shoulder with colleagues in other civil service departments because of the announcement in July that 104,000 jobs would be lost.

"Our pensions are being attacked and our sick absence is being attacked as well.

"It is not just because civil servants are unhappy at the job losses, but also because we want better public services and we want public support to realise and value the work we do.

"We look after members of the public in communities and deliver services for them and look after them from the cradle to the grave - whether that is administering child benefit or winter fuel payments for the elderly.

"The message of our campaign is that the government can't arbitrarily cut staff without having a negative impact on services."

Hundreds more civil servants from across Hampshire, including Crown Prosecution Service staff from Southampton and Eastleigh, workers employed by the Inland Revenue at Queens Keep in Southampton and staff from Titchfield's Office for National Statistics were also planning to take part in today's strike.

Dave Fiegan, from Southamp-ton's Inland Revenue offices in Cumberland Place, said: "We feel very strongly about this. There may well be more strikes in the run up to the election next year."