CHAOS erupted in Burnley in March 1952 when a bus driver was sacked.

This was just one in many sackings over the month and a mass meeting was called to discuss the concerns.

The union's executive committee said a series of one-day strikes could follow if the sacked driver was not reinstated.

Busmen's union branch chairman, Mr Jeff Ali said that in the last month 10 drivers had been dismissed. He claimed it was a deliberate attempt to cut back the work force by the debt-ridden Burnley and Pendle Joint Transport Undertaking.

But, the Burnley and Pendle general manager, Mr Roy Marshall dismissed the totally unfounded claims that men were being sacked to save money.

He also was not happy at the decision to hold a mass meeting at a busy period. He said: "The public will be seriously inconvenienced by this."

However, Mr Ali added: "There have been numerous unfair dismissals in the last month and the straw that broke the camel's back was yesterday when another of our members was dismissed.

"In comparison with cases we had dealt with in the past we would have got this person off." Mr Ali claimed 15 jobs needed to go.