A FESTERING mountain of rubbish revived memories of the Winter of Discontent yesterday — as a bin strike’s fourth week caused misery for a city’s residents.
Shocking images showed hundreds of black bags piled 6ft high at a temporary collection point in Tyseley, Birmingham.
A festering mountain of hundreds of black bags piled 6ft high at a temporary collection point in Tyseley, Birmingham – as the city’s bin strike hits a 4th week[/caption]
The scenes today in Birmingham are reminiscent of the Winter of Discontent in 1979 – with rubbish piling up like here in London’s Leicester Square[/caption]
‘Rats the size of cats’ have been terrorising locals in Birmingham[/caption]
Up to 17,000 tons of waste have gone uncollected in the city since more than 350 refuse workers walked out on March 11 over wage cuts.
The Unite union says about 150 members will be £8,000 worse off. On Monday the council — which disputes the figures — declared a major incident and began using waste lorries under a contingency plan.
But bosses warned it will take weeks to clear the streets as the backlog piles up.
Locals have reported seeing rats “as big as cats” swarming through the waste, in scenes reminiscent of the Seventies’ strikes.
Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers — including binmen downed tools all over Britain in protest over their wage rises being capped while inflation soared.
The industrial action began in September 1978, ending only in the following February — after the nation’s coldest winter for 16 years.
Yesterday, after residents were informed of the temporary collection point in a car park, a sea of filth had piled up by 7.30am.
Some people got up before dawn with others forced to bring along 20 black bags in one go.
Tyseley resident Danny Carter, 33, said of the heap: “It just makes you ashamed to be a Brummie right now, to be honest.
“It looks like those giant rubbish mountains they get in places like Mumbai.
“People have just seen the lorries were coming and used it as a chance to fly-tip. People are fed up, but this is disgusting.”
Meanwhile, 55-year-old agency worker Mohammed blasted contingency plans for being unhygienic.
He noted: “There’s a nursery there for the kids and a community centre there. They should’ve sent security and secured the site.”
He continued: “I’ve lived here 40 years and I’ve never seen the area this bad. I had about 20 bags in my garden, piled up, smelling up the place.”
Council environment chief Majid Mahmood said some areas had gone without bin collections for up to seven weeks.
He said it will take between two and four weeks for some 90 contingency trucks to get collections back to normal.
But another three to four weeks will be needed after that for a clean-up.
Rubbish piled up on Grove Cottage Rd in Bordesley Green in Birmingham[/caption]
City residents claim they can smell the stench while walking down the street[/caption]
Vermin the size of ‘small cats’ were seen scurrying around the streets[/caption]
Rubbish piles up, blocking pavements and roads[/caption]
Striking bin men picket at the Lifford Lane Depot, Kings Norton[/caption]
Rats the size of cats roam the streets
By Tracey Kandohla & Freya Parsons
THERE are rats the size of cats in this UK city and mountains of rubbish along the streets.
Residents have complained that the area “stinks” and you can’t turn a corner without tripping over heaps of waste.
Huge rats plaguing rubbish-riddled Birmingham amidst the bin worker’s strike are terrifying locals as the industrial action, which started early this year, continues.
The clash between waste collector’s union Unite and Birmingham City Council over the scrapping of a “safety-critical role” and pay cuts has led to indefinite strikes.
Overflowing bins have caused utter carnage, with chaos set to “worsen”, taxi drivers are warning.
As residents, workers and shoppers desperately try to avoid the vermin-hit streets, cabbie Abid Hussain said: “The garbage is piling up, the vermin are coming out. It is disgusting!
“The city is filthy, it stinks. It is a health issue and the situation will only get worse.”
The driver of 32 years slammed authorities for allowing Britain’s second biggest city to “go to the rats.”
Abid, speaking exclusively to The Sun, sighed: “It should never have come to this. People are terrified to come out.
“No one wants to see rats scurrying around all the un-emptied bins and the rubbish dumped in streets, alleyways and gardens.
“It is a terrible advert for the city where I have worked for more than three decades. I am a barometer for Birmingham and this is the worst it gets.”
