PRISON officers have again voted for strike action and called on the Government to restore confidence in the jail system.

The Prison Officers Association (POA) said a workplace ballot of officers had called for industrial action "up to and including strike action".

Staff have been angered at the Prison Service's decision to stage their 2007 pay award and have also hit out at rising levels of violence within prisons.

Earlier this month The Northern Echo reported that the number of violent incidents involving prisoners at the North-East and North Yorkshire's 11 jails had gone up by more than 400 per cent in a decade.

There were 1,050 attacks involving inmates last year in the region compared to 204 in 1996.

Meanwhile, sixty new prison places are being planned in the North-East in temporary or "rapid build" units to try and ease the pressure on overcrowded jails.

Last night the POA said it was seeking meetings with the Prison Service and Justice Minister Jack Straw to try and remove the need for action.

Colin Moses, national chairman of the POA, who is a North-East prison officer, said: "The morale of staff throughout England and Wales is at rock bottom.

"Prisons are bursting at the seams, the level of assaults against staff has risen to more than eight a day and in turn the prisoner to staff ratio has also risen.

"Prisons have become significantly more dangerous places to work and the Government must take action to restore the members' confidence in their employer."

Last year another threatened prison strike by officers in a row over pay was called off following last minute peace talks.

The Government had threatened legal action to prevent a strike, claiming it would break the terms of a legally binding agreement preventing prison officers from walking out.