The GMB, the union for public sector staff, says new research shows 186,000 public sector workers in the South West regularly work unpaid overtime worth £976 million a year.

The study, which is based on the latest official statistics, found almost 33% public sector staff in the region regularly work an average of eight unpaid hours a week – the highest percentage in the country.

If public sector workers in the South West were paid for these hours, they would be owed more than £5,200 on average - equivalent to almost a 23 per cent pay rise.

And more than 25,000 public sector workers in the South West regularly work more than 15 hours a week for free.

Public sector workers are almost twice as likely to work unpaid overtime as their private sector counterparts.

Midwives and social workers were two of the hardest hit public sector occupations, with almost four in ten typically putting in unpaid hours.

A quarter of people in school support staff roles, such as teaching assistants and school secretaries, also regularly worked unpaid.