Thousands of parents were left facing severe disruption at home as the strike saw 21 of our schools either completely closed or open to just specific year groups and classes.

The protest comes after the National Union of Teachers (NUT) rejected a 2.45 per cent pay offer from the Government and demanded an increase of 4.1 per cent.

In West Norfolk teachers showed their solidarity by attending a drop-in session at Lynn's Knights Hill Hotel.

Miss Kendra Deacon, the NUT's West Norfolk Local Association Secretary, said: "There was a very good turn-out and we have had a lot of support.

"This has brought a lot of people together. We have made ourselves known and that we are here to support our members."

Strike action was also taken by the University and College Union (UCU), which saw lecturers and tutors at Lynn's College of West Anglia form picket lines at the front of their building on Tennyson Avenue.

As well as having concerns over pay members were protesting at Government underfunding of education, ever-increasing workloads and what they perceive to be the commercialisation of education.

Chairman Keverne Smith told the Lynn News: "We had a very strong level of support from the public which was shown by the traditional honking of horns and we also had students taking stickers saying 'we support our lecturers'.

"What was particularly good was the way a lot of people realised while pay is an issue this is much wider in terms of excessive workloads and ill-thought Government policies.

"It is a difficult decision to strike and you do have to balance things. It is not a local dispute and we feel the public needs to be aware of the way education is being messed up by this Government."

Normal service is expected to resume at schools and colleges across the region today.