It was the coldest winter in a decade-and-a-half.
Petrol stations were closed, goods were not being delivered, rubbish was piling up in the streets and the dead were not being buried.
These powerful pictures remember the Winter of Discontent.

7. How we coped with strikes and power cuts
A scene from strike action in Blackpool during The Winter of Discontent in 1979 Photo: Submit

8. How we coped with strikes and power cuts
More strike action in 1979 at Squires Gate industrial estate Photo: Submit

9. How we coped with strikes and power cuts
Pickets outside Cooksons Bakery in Lytham Photo: library

10. How we coped with strikes and power cuts
Waiting for buses - services had been reduced during strike action Photo: Gary Brunskill

11. Winter of Discontent
Trade unionists on strike at the Preston Council depot in Argyll Road keep warm on the picket line Winter of Discontent January 22, 1979 | National World

12. Winter of Discontent
Rubbish piled up ready for the incinerator after the Winter of Discontent strikes, at Preston Royal Infirmary February 6, 1979 | National World


