FUMING residents of a “third-world city” plagued by mountains of disgusting, festering rubbish have been hit with a “rat tax” for calling out pest controllers.
Streets of Birmingham have been pictured piled high with bin bags, with rats “the size of cats” scurrying along.
Piles of rubbish like this one on Bromfield Close are a common sight in Birmingham[/caption]
Rats “the size of cats” have been seen scurrying along the streets[/caption]
More than 20,000 tonnes of rubbish has amassed on the city streets[/caption]
Ongoing strikes by bin workers who are demanding higher pay and protesting job cuts have seen Birmingham branded a ‘third world city’ within the UK.
Soaring temperatures mean the problem will get even worse, with experts claiming the rodents may breed even faster due to the heat.
This could potentially increase the spread of Leptospirosis, which is also called Weil’s disease.
Refuse workers in the Unite Union began an all-out strike on March 11, which is when the havoc started and has been escalating rapidly ever since.
Birmingham Council’s pest control services used to be free but now locals must pay £24.60 for “rat in garden and rat in house treatments”.
More than 20,000 tonnes of rubbish has amassed on the city streets, with the council declaring a major incident.
Councillor Sam Forsyth quit Labour in protest over the rodent tax, telling a local authority meeting it is a “extremely bad, short-sighted idea”.
She said: “I didn’t come into politics to make life any harder for poor people.
“Rats frighten people, they carry diseases, people are uncertain of what to do and it’s just not something we should be lax about.”
Her words come after a man appeared at a council meeting dressed as a giant rat on Tuesday – asking officials when they are going to finally sort out the problem.
Some locals have said the mounds of rubbish are a ‘buffet on tap’ for rodents.
Brummies said the escalating problem means their neighbourhoods look like “war zones”, with one father saying: “We are fast transforming into a third world city.”
Neighbouring Lichfield District Council announced it will step in and help clear the piles of rubbish from the city streets in a bid to tackle the issue.
Leader Doug Pullen said: “The city is currently seeing rubbish accumulate at a staggering rate of around 1,000 tonnes each week.”
He added that the council is “proud to be a good neighbour” to Birmingham.
Mobile collection vehicles have also been deployed in recent days, but they have seemingly not made a dent in the sea of bin bags.
One Brummie MP even suggested the Government sent in the Army to help clear the streets.
Sir Keir Starmer has urged striking bin workers to start negotiating as the situation makes the lives of locals a living hell.
Last week, Angela Rayner also met council leaders to discuss the problem.
But the Unite union called on Labour to stick up for workers, saying bin crews woke up to a pay cut of £8,000 a year.
Bin strikes and rat swarms in Birmingham
A bin strike in Birmingham has caused 17,000 tonnes of rubbish to pile up in the city.
The strike began on March 11, when the Unite union kicked back at the City Council’s cuts to waste collection.
In a bid to save money, the council announced plans to cut waste collection and recycling officer roles.
In September 2023, the council had been slapped with a £790 million bill which left them essentially bankrupt.
In an effort to support their strike, the binmen have begun blocking emergency waste trucks from leaving the depot.
This has caused the rubbish piles to grow even larger, which have become the ideal breeding grounds for swarms of cat-sized rats.
No.10 Downing Street has weighed in on the issue and demanded that Unite meet Birmingham City Council at the negotiating table.
For now, the strike has entered its 30th day and the piles of rubbish have grown even higher.