University staff on strike have rejected an agreement reached by union leaders and employers, which would have otherwise ended the dispute over pensions.

University staff rejected the deal, citing it failed to address concerns over threats to their pensions.

The strike is already in its fourth week and has resulted in classes at more than 60 universities being cancelled.

The strikes began over planned changes to pensions, which the University and College union said could result in retired staff being £10,00 per year worse off.

The UCU and Universities UK had reached an agreement but failed to persuade university representatives to take the deal at a meeting on Tuesday.

Sally Hunt, the leader of the University and College Union, said: "The strike action for this week remains on and we will now make detailed preparations for strikes over the assessment and exam period."

"We want urgent talks with the universities' representatives to try and find a way to get this dispute resolved."

The deal on the table had proposed temporary pension arrangements, with higher contributions from staff and universities, with talks to be re-opened on how to make the pension sustainable from 2020.

However, the agreement was rejected by the union's representatives, suggesting the deal simply postponed long-term decisions about the pension scheme.