RADIOGRAPHERS across the UK will go on strike today in the latest industrial action against the Government's decision not to accept a recommended one per cent pay rise for all NHS staff.

Members of the Society of Radiographers across the UK will walk out for four hours from 9am and work to rule for the rest of the week.

It is the first pay strike by diagnostic imaging and ­radiotherapy professionals since the early 1980s.

Radiology departments and cancer treatment centres will be affected by the strike, with appointments likely to be cancelled, although emergency and urgent care will continue.

"Radiographers who work in the NHS in the four countries of the UK will take part in the action," said Richard Evans, the society's chief executive officer. "This is the first time since 1982 that radiographers have gone on strike over pay and there is the possibility of more action in the future. The anger they and other NHS workers feel is very strong.

"The last thing radio­graphers want is to hurt the people they serve. Steps have been taken to minimise the impact on patients. This disagreement between NHS staff and the government has been going on for a long time and radiographers have lost patience with an employer they feel does not value their hard work."