CARS were honking their horns and children chiming their bike bells when they passed a radio station's picket line.

BBC Hereford & Worcester journalists walked out for 24 hours over proposed cutbacks to local radio programming.

Local output at the Worcester-based station was taken off the air as members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) walked out at 11am on Wednesday (March 15).

Across the 24 hours, the journalists were outside the radio station on Hylton Road holding placards and high-vis vests.

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Children were spotted chiming their bike bells as they headed off to school with regular listeners joining the group in solidarity.

Alistair Binney, journalist and NUJ rep for BBC Hereford & Worcester, said: "We have been having loads of support - the number of calls and text messages before the strike was unbelievable.

"We had listeners come down to speak to us, meet us, shake our hand and have a chat.

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"One person said 'This is a lifeline for some of us who are stuck at home for a long time'.

"Another mentioned listening to us in bed with their mother before she died, and that just shows the heart of the local community journalism provides."

The action follows the BBC’s announcement of plans to axe shows and merge local radio programming.

The plans, if implemented, would see no local programming on BBC Hereford & Worcester at weekends other than sports coverage.

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From 2pm, on weekdays, one programme would be shared across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, Staffordshire, South Cheshire and Stoke.

From 6pm, one programme would be broadcast across every station in the West Midlands.

The industrial action took place on the day Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced his budget, and school teachers also went on strike.

BBC staff who are members of the National Union of Journalists are also considering strike action to coincide with May’s local elections, the coronation and Eurovision.

A BBC spokesperson said: “Our local plans are about delivering an even better service to communities across England, reflecting how audiences use the BBC, strengthening our online provision and increasing the impact of our journalism.

“We have consulted extensively with the NUJ over recent months and adapted our plans in response to feedback.

“We have assured teams working across our 39 BBC Local bases that we will maintain overall investment and staffing levels in local services and we’ll work hard to minimise the risk of compulsory redundancies.”