A PLANNED railway strike has been called off while further talks take place.

The RMT union has called off its planned industrial action on Saturday while it continues negotiating with South Western Railway.

A South Western Railway spokesman said:"We are pleased for our passengers that this strike has been called off to allow further talks to take place.

"This means we will be running a full Saturday timetable on August 11."

RMT union members have staged three 24-hour walkouts in the past few weeks as part of a row over the role of guards.

The remaining strike dates of Saturday, August 18, Friday, August 31, and Saturday, September 1, remain in place.

The union is calling for a "cast iron guarantee of guards" on trains and "a halt to the rolling out of driver-only operation".