Thousands of homes and businesses in Oxfordshire were without mail again today as the postal workers' strike intensified.

Staff at Headington, east Oxford, Witney, Carterton, Wallingford and Bicester have now joined the unofficial action by workers at Oxford and Cowley.

Strikers were meeting at Cowley Workers Social Club today(Monday) to discuss their next move in the dispute, now in its fifth day. National union leaders have distanced themselves from the stoppage and are pressing workers to go back.

The strike has stopped most deliveries and collections in the OX1, OX2, OX3, OX18, OX28 and OX29 areas.

Eighteen workers at the Osney Lane sorting office near Oxford railway station have been on strike since Thursday.

They walked out after being asked by managers to interrupt sorting mail for that day's deliveries to start sorting mail for the following day. When they refused, they were told they would not be paid.

Workers at the main Cowley sorting office walked out on Friday, followed by staff at Headington, Witney and Carterton on Saturday.

Talks to resolve the dispute continued until 9pm on Friday but negotiations broke down when Royal Mail said that strike leaders could face disciplinary action.

Royal Mail drafted in 50 managers from across Oxfordshire over the weekend to help with emptying postboxes and sorting mail but agreed their efforts would have little effect on the service.

Spokesman Mike Dalton said: "The key thing is to get people back. There is very little if any mail being delivered in these areas."

The Communication Workers' Union issued a statement to workers, saying it could not support their unofficial action.

It said: "The union has repudiated the call for industrial action and will give no support to unofficial industrial action.

"If you are dismissed while taking unofficial industrial action, you will have no right to complain of unfair dismissal."

The union's divisional officer was expected to attend today's mass meeting to reinforce the warning.

Royal Mail managers and union officials were due to hold further talks, before the workers met, to try to thrash out a settlement.

Mr Pete Boswell, the union's Oxford branch secretary, said: "I would hope there would be some form of agreement put to workers.

"But any return to work depends on the agreement and whether they accept it or not.

"They are not going back to work with the Royal Mail having carte blanche to have a witchhunt - we need to get that issue sorted.

"This will be an important meeting of the whole branch and they will decide what they want to do."

Royal Mail is advising customers to post their mail outside of the OX postcode area while the dispute continues.