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Wildcat strikes spread to power stations across Britain today with more than 2,000 workers at 17 different sites walking out in protest against the use of foreign contractors.

Around 700 staff walked out of the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland and 400 more staged an unofficial strike at a refinery in Teesside as workers lent their support to a three-day strike at Total's Lindsey oil refinery near Grimsby.

The wave of renegade strikes has also hit power stations including Longannet in Scotland, where 500 mechanical contractors have downed tools. At least 17 sites have seen strike action thus far and talks about further walkouts are ongoing at other installations, including the Sellafield nuclear plant.

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British workers, in our deregulated labour market, do have it tougher than those in other countries

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Staff at the Lindsey refinery, in Immingham, North Lincolnshire, began their wildcat strike on Wednesday in protest at the arrival of 200 Italian and Portuguese staff who were awarded a large construction contract.

It is thought that the European contractors at the centre of the dispute were told to avoid confrontation by staying inside a large, grey barge accommodating them, which was moored in Grimsby docks. A small band of protesters gathered near the barge today but quickly dispersed.

The British National Party was trying to hijack the unofficial strikes today sending activists to join the picket line as the Unite union, which did not sanction the strikes, attempted to retain its influence over members who are angry that British jobs have been lost to European competitors.

“Yesterday was a great day for British nationalism,” said a spokesman for the far-right BNP.

As workers addressed a crowd of around 600 outside Lindsey one of the workers shouted: “Get the BNP rep up there” but he was quickly shouted down.

Bobby Buirds, a regional officer for Unite in Scotland, said that the workers at Grangemouth were striking to protect British jobs, not to confront the foreign workers.

“The argument is not against foreign workers, it’s against foreign companies discriminating against British labour,” he said.

“This is a fight for work. It is a fight for the right to work in our own country. It is not a racist argument at all.”

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