The University and College Union (UCU) revealed that hundreds of its members at Barnsley College will be balloted for strike action within weeks.

The move follows the college's decision to sack staff member Bob Willerton after a disciplinary hearing this week.

Union officials claim Mr Willerton's case is among an unusually high number of disciplinary matters investigated by college chiefs within 18 months.

They say punishments handed to staff have become increasingly severe, culminating in Mr Willerton's sacking, which they describe as "an attack on the union".

Regional UCU official Russ Escritt said members voted unanimously for a strike ballot at an emergency union meeting on Wednesday.

He said: "The branch meeting was one of the largest ever held at the college and it is clear that our members feel very strongly about this issue.

"Our members at Barnsley College are right to see this sacking as an attack on the union.

"This sacking comes after more than a dozen disciplinary cases in the last 18 months at this college, far more than is normal in colleges.

"Punishments have been getting more severe. A stand needs to be made."

Mr Willerton, a UCU branch official who oversaw the college's Gateway to Engineering programme, plans to appeal against his dismissal.

His departure was confirmed by the college's vice-principal Phil Cook following a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday.

About 120 staff members gathered at the college's Old Mill Lane site at 12pm the next day to stage a one-hour protest and demand Mr Willerton's immediate reinstatement.

The union meeting was held four hours later at the city's Cooper Art Gallery, where officials were instructed to draw up a timetable for a strike ballot.

Mr Escritt said he would be writing to managers at the college to set out the timetable and summarise staff members' concerns.

Barnsley College, established as a tertiary college in 1990, is striving to restore its reputation after being at the centre of a long-running major fraud investigation.

A six-year inquiry by the Serious Fraud Office came to an end in February 2007, when retired lecturer Stuart Spacey was jailed for 18 months for his part in defrauding the college of almost £1m.

Sheffield Crown Court heard that Spacey, who joined the college in 1967, was a secondary figure in the fraud but had been left to "face the music alone" after the case against co-defendant David Eade was halted on medical grounds.

Prosecutors told the hearing that Spacey and Eade, the former college principal, used sham companies between 1995 and 2002 to claim payment for education services that were never provided. Spacey returned to court in April last year and was ordered to meet a £470,053 confiscation order within three months or face a further four years in prison.

The college saw its overall A- level pass rate rise by four per cent this year, 15 students gaining three or more A grades.

A college spokeswoman said: "All trade unions have the right to ballot for industrial action provided due process is followed, as stated in the relevant legislation.

"To date, Barnsley College has not been informed in writing of any such action by UCU. However, this is a matter for the union."