PRISON officers last night claimed victory against the Government after calling off their first strike for 68 years ahead of fresh pay talks.

The move ended a tense stand-off between the Prison Officers Association (POA) and the Government, following a day of strike action that brought chaos to jails across the country.

The POA said that Justice Secretary Jack Straw had offered "full and meaningful" talks over the pay dispute, which had persuaded the union's executive to call off the strike.

But a Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said Mr Straw had already arranged to meet the union's leadership tomorrow, before he knew about yesterday's walkouts.

Last night, Colin Moses, chairman of the POA, told The Northern Echo: "This has awoken the awareness of the Government to the plight of professional men and women in the Prison Service.

"We should not have to do this again, but we stand ready to defend our jobs and livelihoods."

Mr Moses, who previously worked as a prison officer at Low Newton Prison, near Durham, said the talks with Mr Straw had not been planned and claimed they had come about as a result of the strike.

He said: "We have called the strike off and we will meet him on Friday to try to resolve this situation."

Mr Straw said: "I am glad that the POA has issued this instruction to return to work."

The POA had earlier taken the Government and Prison Service by complete surprise by announcing a 24-hour wildcat strike - an hour before it began, at 7am yesterday.

It led to inmates being locked in their cells for long periods, visitors being told to stay away and the cancellation of court cases.

The Ministry of Justice responded by obtaining an injunction in the High Court against the union, which it expected would lead to a return to work.

But many prison officers were unmoved by the court action and continued with the protest into the evening, after initial confusion over what advice was being issued to members by the union.

The POA has been angered at a decision to impose what it described as an under-inflation 2.5 per cent pay award. Earlier this month, members voted by almost 9-1 in favour of strike action.

Between 900 and 1,000 prison officers in the North-East alone are thought to have walked out yesterday.

The POA said there had been solid support for the strike across the region, although a handful of prison officers at high security Frankland jail, in Durham, offered to go back to work after a plea for help by management.

A POA branch meeting was called, during which prison bosses asked union reps for volunteers to return to work because of the dangerous nature of the inmates held there.

About 170 staff were on strike, but 15 volunteered to work with the agreement of the union.

Inmates include al Qaida bombers Omar Khyam and Dhiren Barot, and - until recently - two of PC Sharon Beshenivsky's killers, Muzzaker Shah, 26, and Yusuf Jama, 20.

Frankland POA branch chairman Steve Jackson said: "We fully appreciate this is a particularly dangerous jail because of the people held in there.

"Frankland Prison does not have a reputation as being a militant jail and we work in partnership with management."

Meanwhile, during the strike, Cleveland and Durham police provided patrols outside prisons.

A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that Cleveland Police are providing perimeter security at Holme House Prison (near Stockton) in line with existing contingency plans."

Durham Police said they had instigated police patrols at the main entrances to the county's jails, but said the measure was only in case of any potential trouble arising as a result of relatives of prisoners being refused visits.

The wildcat strike also hit the courts. Prisoners on remand were not permitted to leave their jails to attend hearings.

Several cases at Teesside Crown Court were adjourned because the defendants were not being sent from Holme House.

The situation also meant that a defendant charged with murder was not present to hear a guilty verdict delivered.

Joseph Tingle, 23, had been on trial at the court accused of murdering drug addict Richard Petty in his home in Billingham, on Teesside. The case went ahead after Tingle had given his consent through his legal team.

As well as the pay dispute, there are also concerns about overcrowding in the region's jails and an increase in attacks on officers. Joe Simpson, national executive of the POA, representing the North-East and Yorkshire, said such attacks were often a deliberate attempt by prisoners to be transferred to other establishments nearer their homes.

Mr Simpson, who is based at Holme House, said: "The problem is, at Holme House we have got prisoners being brought in from all over the place - Manchester, Liverpool and even London.

"Many of them want to go back to their home establishments and they think the way they can do that and get a transfer is by assaulting our members."

A prisoner was yesterday found hanging from a ligature in his cell at Acklington Prison, in Northumberland, although there was no suggestion the death was related to the industrial action.

William Laidlaw, 39, was in prison for breaching the conditions of his licence after previously being released early from a four-and-a-half-year sentence for aggravated burglary.