Thousands of parents will be forced to organise emergency childcare tomorrow when strike action causes a string of school closures.

Chaos is predicted across Sussex as more than 30,000 council workers walk out in protest over Government plans to curb local authority pensions.

Union leaders have confirmed details of the strike action which could be the biggest bout of industrial unrest since the General Strike in 1926.

It will mean most everyday services will be disrupted.

No rubbish collection or street cleansing will take place for 24 hours in most parts of the county.

Because the strike includes teaching assistants, dinner ladies, caretakers and other school support staff, dozens of schools will shut for the day.

Parents will be forced to take the day off work or arrange babysitters.

Sussex Police control room staff were planning to stop work for 24 hours starting at midnight tonight and dozens of police community support officers, forensic teams and other support staff will not go to work tomorrow.

Many university non-teaching staff are in local government pension schemes so University of Brighton campuses in Grand Parade and Lewes Road will also be shut.

But there will be no strike at the University of Sussex because its union members did not take part in the industrial action ballot.

It is predicted all council offices, town halls, waste depots and most libraries, leisure centres and museums will be shut and picket lines will be outside many at 5.30am.

A few hundred exemptions have been granted for union members who care for the elderly, disabled or vulnerable and for women about to go on maternity leave or people in their last year of work, whose pay or pensions would be affected if they took part in the strike.

Unions taking part are Unison, GMB, Transport and General Workers' Union, Amicus, the National Association of Probation Officers, Community and Youth Workers' Union, the Association of Educational Psychologists and the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians.

Dozens of staff from union head offices in London are coming to Sussex to help with leafleting, demonstrations and rallies which will take place throughout the day.

Teana Ashley, Unison's South-East regional head of local government, said: "More resources have been put into this action across all the unions involved than ever before. It is very organised on all levels.

"We won't know exactly what will happen until tomorrow but it is going to be huge."