Strike action has been averted at a paint factory in Stowmarket after a pay dispute was settled.

Unite union members at the paint producer had been balloting over taking their dispute over a 2.25% pay offer, backdated to April, to the next level and going on strike.

The Unite said members had already rejected the "paltry" pay offer in a consultative ballot, and said bosses had set a September 6 deadline, after which it would withdraw the offer.

As a result members were being balloted over strike action.

Now, after talks between the union and management, it has been resolved without the withdrawal of labour.

Unite regional officer Neal Evans said: "The pay dispute at AzkoNobel in Stowmarket has been settled. We are not revealing the nature of the pay deal, except to say, our members are working normally."

Andrew Dawson, site manager for AkzoNobel said: "I'm delighted that colleagues on the Stowmarket site have agreed the pay increase. This has removed the uncertainty and worry that many members of the team would have felt if the outcome of the strike ballot had been to support strike action.

"My management team, the local union representatives and all colleagues on the site have worked hard to secure a positive future for this facility as a major manufacturing employer in Suffolk. AkzoNobel has been manufacturing paint here for almost 100 years and we look forward to manufacturing Dulux here for years to come."

The factory site, in Needham Road, produces Dulux paints and also Cuprinol products.