Talks aimed at averting a national rail strike have gone into a fourth day.

Leaders of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union met with Network Rail (NR) managers all weekend to try to resolve a pay dispute.

The meeting, at the conciliation service Acas, was adjourned yesterday after several hours and resumed this morning.

RMT members at NR are due to stage a 24-hour strike from 5pm on Thursday after rejecting a two-year pay offer.

The workers, including signallers and maintenance staff, are also threatening a 48-hour strike from Tuesday June 9.

Both sides were staying tight-lipped about the talks, but time is running out on reaching a deal.

There will be widespread disruption to rail services if the strike goes ahead, causing travel chaos across the country.