HUNDREDS of warehouse workers at a Sainsbury's distribution centre have voted to accept a pay offer.

More than 600 employees at the Haydock centre, which supplies the firm's Trinity Street supermarket in Bolton, took part in the ballot after taking strike action at the end of last year and the beginning of 2004. A total of 426 voted in favour of the settlement and 218 against. The warehouse workers had been campaigning for £8 an hour, which they said was the regional average, but accepted £7.60 an hour.

The Haydock workers staged four 24-hour strikes in December and January after rejecting previous offers. Joanne McGuinness, Usdaw national officer, said: "This has been a long and complex pay negotiation, but we have always maintained that a deal could be reached through continued dialogue.

"The workers have voted to accept a deal that offers the incentive of further increases linked to productivity.

"They have agreed an acceptable package and they now just want to get on with their jobs."

Usdaw agreed to arrange a ballot this week on the offer following talks involving conciliation service Acas.