NHS strike fiasco as military steps in after thousands of midwives, nurses and paramedics walk out for first time in THIRTY YEARS... but only one in 10 backs the industrial action

Members of the armed forces (main image) were today drafted in as more than 400,000 health workers, including nurses, midwives and paramedics, took strike action. They walked out despite only a fraction of them voting to strike over pay. Fewer than half those balloted for the controversial health strike voted in favour of the action, the Daily Mail can reveal. And Unison, one of the biggest unions, could persuade fewer than one in ten - 9.5 per cent - of eligible members to vote for the controversial walkout. Picket lines were mounted outside hospitals and ambulance stations across England (inset) at 7am, for four hours, as staff took action in a row over the Government's refusal to introduce a recommended one per cent pay rise. Union members will take industrial action for the rest of the week, in the form of work-to-rule, including ensuring they take their allotted break times.