HUNDREDS of prison officers in the North-East could carry out threats this week to go out on strike in support of their colleagues in Northern Ireland.

Officers across the region may stage walkouts unless the Government steps up security on their colleagues' homes in Northern Ireland following a series of pipe-bomb attacks.

The attacks came after a list of the officers' addresses was stolen.

The Prison Officers' Association (POA) feared it was only a matter of time before one of its officers or their relatives was harmed.

It is calling on its 35,000 members to show their support if a meeting on Wednesday with Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy fails to find a resolution.

The association has not decided on the scale of the action, but said there could be a full strike.

Joe Simpson, the POA branch chairman at Holme House Prison, in Stockton, said some officers had reservations because it was illegal for them to strike.

He said: "We believe that the lives of our colleagues in Northern Ireland are worth a lot more.

"Because we will be breaking the law, we will be breaking the law if we ballot, so we will be looking at taking action straight away."

At present, officers are given £17,000 to upgrade their homes, less than half the amount given for improvements to police officers.

The national chairman of the POA, Colin Moses, from Washington, Wearside, said: "The prison officers under terrorist attack in Northern Ireland are members of the same union as the officers walking the landings in Durham.

"We are asking for our colleagues throughout England, including the North-East, to support us."

The action would affect about 1,800 prison officers in the North-East.