London's Tube services were back to normal on Thursday morning following a strike by drivers and staff which paralysed the network.

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone estimated the cost of the strike to London's economy as �60m as many people took a day's holiday rather than face queuing for packed buses or sitting in gridlocked traffic.

Although the strike officially finished at 2000 BST on Wednesday, the network stayed shut until Thursday morning to ensure the service would run normally.

But traffic was predicted to remain chaotic in the West End as roads surrounding Haymarket were shut due to a large fire near the Theatre Royal.

We hope London Underground will now see sense, but if they do not, then next week's strike will go ahead.

Bob Crow, RMT leader

Unless the deadlocked pay dispute is broken, members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and drivers' union Aslef will hold another strike from 2000 BST next Tuesday.

London Underground praised the 800 station staff who turned up for work, but only a handful of drivers defied the strike, making it impossible for any Tube trains to run.

The government condemned the strike as "completely unnecessary", while a business leader warned of a return to the "bad old days".

London Underground says it has no more money to offer after imposing a 3% pay rise on drivers, who, it says, earn �31,274.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow and Aslef leader Mick Rix blamed London Underground for not accepting an offer of mediation.

"The strike has been absolutely solid, with RMT members standing shoulder to shoulder with their colleagues from Aslef," Mr Crow said.

"London Underground has no excuse not to come to mediation with us.

"We hope they will now see sense, but if they do not, then next week's strike will go ahead."