Probation officers across England and Wales will walk out at the end of the month in their fight against "reckless" coalition plans to privatise the service.

Union Napo announced yesterday after a special meeting in Birmingham that members would strike for 24 hours from midday on March 31.

General secretary Ian Lawrence said: "The coalition's plans to sell off the management of offenders to private providers so that they can make a profit from the justice system is a recklessly dangerous social experiment that presents massive risks to the safety of communities."