STRIKERS today brought court chaos to Glasgow when criminal cases had to be postponed because of a 24-hour pay strike.

The workload at Glasgow Sheriff Court - the busiest of its kind in Europe - was badly disrupted, with four of the seven courts not operating.

Up to 2000 staff in the country's judicial system took industrial action which led to trials being postponed at courts across Scotland.

Strike leader Eddie Reilly, Scottish secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union, said: "This has been a successful strike across the entire justice system.

"This is the first time in 30 years that there's been a departmental strike in the Scottish Court Service.

"If Alex Salmond and John Swinney don't come out of hibernation and resolve this pay dispute there will be more strikes."

Staff employed in the Scottish Courts Service as well as others who perform clerical and administrative duties for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal's Service are furious at the 2% pay offer, well below the current inflation rate of around 5%.

Many strikers say they will end up earning less than the new minimum pay rates due to become law next month.

Staff at sportscotland and the National Museums of Scotland also staged a day of action, at a time when the union is balloting 270,000 members across the UK over government pay policies.

A spokeswoman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: "We will work with the Scottish Court Service to ensure that essential business is not disrupted."