TEACHERS warned Essex schools face a recruitment crisis, as they put their case for better pay.

About 200 NUT members packed out a conference room at the County Hotel in Chelmsford, as the union's first strike for 21 years forced schools to close across the country.

With about one-third of UK schools shut to pupils, education minister Jim Knight said parents would be "bewildered" by the industrial action, with the average teacher already earning £34,000.

But the NUT's Essex regional secretary Jerry Glazier insisted members were only striking because they cared about children and the future of the profession.

He told the rally the Government's pay offer of a 2.45 per cent rise would contribute to making teaching "less and less attractive".

"It will mean teachers will be forced to leave teaching," he said.

"Teaching is an aged and ageing profession, and more and more of us will be seeking retirement.

"At the same time, the significant minority of the 800 newly-qualified teachers we take on each year in Essex are leaving the profession within three years.

"All this means the average annual turnover in Essex schools is 20 per cent, because teachers are either retiring, moving to different schools or changing careers."

Phil Burnham, a Southend-based teacher, spoke about the financial challenges he faced.

"I finished university eight years ago and it will take another two years to pay off my student loan," he said.

"With these pay deals, every year we are effectively getting poorer and poorer."