A picket was staged outside Keighley Ambulance Station on Saturday as union members held a 24-hour strike.

Unite was protesting at plans by Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust bosses to introduce new shift patterns.

The union – which has four members at the Hard Ings Road station – said emergency crews were recently given just four days to accept revised rotas, including runs of eight shifts in succession, and faced reduced meal breaks.

Unite health and safety representative, Mark Burt, said he was delighted with the support shown at the weekend.

“We had about eight people on the picket line with us, which considering we’re a minority union at Keighley was fantastic,” he added.

A further four-hour strike was staged on Monday.

David Whiting, chief executive of the ambulance trust, condemned the action as “reckless” and neglectful of patient care.

“I remain deeply concerned over this type of action, which I know is of concern to all our A&E staff – who are very committed to patient care – and places many of them in a very difficult situation,” he said.

“We continue to refute the misleading and factually incorrect claims being made by Unite.”