CONTINGENCY plans are being drawn up by councils in Gwent as local authority workers get ready to take industrial action tomorrow.

Newport council says the strike is likely to affect some of its services and is working to minimise disruption.

Acting managing director Graham Bingham said: "We have drawn up contingency plans to safeguard particularly the most needy and vulnerable in our community during strike action.

"Regrettably some services are likely to be affected though we hope to run as many as possible."

The civic centre in Newport will be open but services will not run at full capacity - and refuse will not be collected until a week later.

No street cleaning and litter picking will take place and no public toilets will be open. All libraries and the museum will be closed. Some leisure centres and tourist venues will be closed.

The Transporter Bridge will be closed tomorrow but re-open on Thursday.

Headteachers in Newport have been writing to parents to inform them if their school will be closed or whether there are special arrangements being made for school meals.

In Blaenau Gwent all council offices, leisure centres, libraries, education centres, cinemas, theatres, public toilets, sports pavilions and cemeteries will be closed to the public.

Most schools are also expected to be closed because of the absence of support staff such as nursery assistants, crossing patrols and caretakers.

But residential care and meals-on-wheels and home care for vulnerable people will be delivered.

The emergency call centre will also be operating for emergencies only and the unions have agreed that should an emergency occur then employees will be called in to deal with it. Council leader John Hopkins said all council meetings would also be postponed. A spokesman for Torfaen council said 18 schools in the county borough would close and 31 would open for at least half a day.

He added that it may not be known until Wednesday which venues will open and that the council has produced two notices - one warning of reduced speed of service and the other of closure due to industrial action - and these have been sent to libraries and leisure centres.

"The appropriate notice will be put up on the day," he said.

Caerphilly and Monmouth-shire councils have also drawn up contingency plans to minimise the impact - but Caerphilly council is expecting "widespread disruption".