Drivers for First North Western Trains are to stage three 48-hour strikes, their union Aslef announced on Wednesday.

Aslef has rejected an offer worth about 3.5% and is seeking a bigger rise.

First North Western runs 1,500 trains a day in and around Liverpool and Manchester.

I hope First North Western management will see the sense in this before industrial action commences

Mick Rix Aslef

Its services extend from Birmingham to the Lake District and from Anglesey to West Yorkshire.

Aslef's general secretary Mick Rix said: "First North Western Drivers are now the lowest-paid in the country and we are determined that they receive the same decent rates of pay as drivers in comparable companies elsewhere.

"I hope First North Western management will see the sense in this before industrial action commences."

The union is also balloting drivers on Arriva Trains Merseyside for industrial action over pay.