Strike chaos is set to hit Sussex for the second time in a month as a row over pensions rages on.

Pupils are once again expected to be turned away from schools, museum and libraries closed, refuse collections disrupted and council offices shut when public sector workers in the South-East stage a 24-hour walkout on April 25.

Union leaders are warning the action will be bigger than last month's strike, when more than 16,000 employees in Sussex demonstrated against Government plans to cut their pensions.

Announcing the strike date, Mark Turner, Sussex secretary of the GMB, said: "There will be a wider effect than last time because we are giving people a lot more notice. Plans are afoot to have a big impact across the whole county.

"We want John Prescott to know our members are not backing down on this. They are looking for equal treatment across all the public services and for their pension rights to be protected."

He said workers could be transported into Brighton and Hove for a huge rally.

Public sector workers are now allowed to retire if their age plus length of service adds up to 85 but that rule could be scrapped in a bid to halt an impending pensions crisis. Instead, employees could be forced to work until 65 to claim a full pension.

Andy Richards, Sussex chairman of Unison, warned workers could abandon their jobs for up to a fortnight and particular services be targeted, if an agreement is not reached. Further walkouts were planned for May.

He said: "We are taking action again because the dispute is still on.

The local authority employees have not shifted their position at all.

"People are even more angry now because the Government has rushed to push through this legislation."

Brighton and Hove City Council and East and West Sussex county councils said it was too early to say how badly services would be affected.

A spokeswoman for the city council said essential services would be available, an emergency phone line set up and updates would be posted on the web site www.brighton-hove.gov.uk.

Parts of Sussex were brought to a standstill on March 28 as union members took to the streets mounting picket lines and waving banners.

In Brighton and Hove, the Royal Pavilion, the Brighton Centre and a quarter of the city's schools were closed, along with libraries, museums and dozens of offices.

Sussex Police support staff including control room workers, forensics staff and community support officers, walked out for the first time in more than a decade.

In East Sussex, 14 schools were affected with nine closing for the day.

In West Sussex, three schools were shut.

Workers in Scotland, Wales and Northern will go on strike on April 26, followed by their colleagues throughout the rest of England on April 27.