Sack of mail for Britain are piling up in Copenhagen after the British Postal Workers' Union asked its Danish counterpart to keep all such post until Britain's mail strike is finished.

With the strike in its third day on Friday (22 January the British section of the Copenhagen Post Office was starting to bulge at the seams. Letters are still being sorted for different destinations in Britain, with the sea mail going into grey sacks and the air mail being placed in blue ones. But after that the letters' journey comes to an abrupt halt.

A number of overseas postal workers have expressed solidarity with the British strikers, notably in France, Belgium and Australia. But many overseas telephone calls are still getting through to Britain as most international telephone operators in London are reporting for work.

There is no sign of an end to the strike yet, with the union claiming it is 95 per cent effective. The workers are asking for a 15 per cent pay increase and have rejected the Post Office's offer of an eight per cent rise.