YORK bus chiefs said today they were hopeful of a breakthrough in a pay dispute which has seen five days of strike action in York.

Peter Edwards, First commercial manager, said some ideas had emerged from yesterday's talks with TGWU representatives in Leeds.

He declined to reveal just what was being explored. He said: "We are just exploring some ideas at the moment but we've got some work to do before we can confirm whether or not they're going to come to anything.

"Our hopes have been dashed more than once throughout the course of this dispute, but we are making serious efforts to try and resolve this dispute and we are hopeful that this may lead to a breakthrough."

Nobody from the TGWU was available for comment about the talks.

Earlier, York Age Concern head Sally Hutchinson spoke out about the impact of the bus strike on pensioners.

Mrs Hutchinson said that while she and her organisation sympathised with the drivers' case, their actions had caused hardship to many older people in the city.

Mrs Hutchinson said that the decision to target four days in a row had "not been thought through carefully" and might turn elderly people against the drivers.

"While we sympathise with the drivers if they feel their wages are insufficient, four days was too long for some older people who have only got the bus," she said.

A TGWU press office spokesman said: "Taking strike action is always the last resort for us and we regret any inconvenience caused to the travelling public, especially those represented by Age Concern. That's why we hope for all concerned that a settlement will be reached."

Updated: 10:43 Thursday, September 04, 2003