Their union says it is in protest at the failure to implement a pay deal worth an average of 8% over two years.

Eight in 10 lecturers voted to strike in a ballot organised by the university and college lecturers' union Natfhe.

They will be joined by staff at eight colleges who had called off industrial action they had voted for in an earlier ballot of 75 institutions in February.

Natfhe says lecturers at 47 colleges have walked out so far this year over a failure to implement the same deal - 10 of these will also join the strike on 25 May.

Natfhe, which represents colleges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, says the deal was struck in order to reduce the estimated 10% pay gap between college lecturers and schoolteachers.

'Patience exhausted'

As well as a 6% rise over two years, the agreement included the introduction of a shorter pay scale which would produce further pay increases.

Natfhe's head of colleges, Barry Lovejoy, said the latest colleges to vote for industrial action had "exhausted their patience".

The pay deal was negotiated nationally, but is implemented by individual colleges.

The Association of Colleges says colleges are facing financial difficulties as a result of lack of funding from the government.

A spokesman said they continue to campaign to close the funding gap between lecturers and schoolteachers.