Families forced to live among mountains of rat-infested trash as Birmingham binmen strike goes into FIFTH week

Families in Birmingham are being forced to live among smelly and rat-infested bin bags after binmen in the city went on strike.

Mountains of rubbish are now piling up in the streets, threatening to block off front doors and overflow into the road as a result of the strike, which began on June 30.

Birmingham City Council have tried to combat the mess on the streets by employing contractors to clear the pavements but bin bags are still piling up across a three-mile radius.

Binmen went on strike to protest a proposed jobs and hours shake-up – but there is still no sign of the industrial action coming to an end.

Residents in the city are now so fed up with the trash that they have started collecting their own rubbish.

Now the exasperated residents have become so fed up with the rubbish they have been forced to start collecting their own rubbish.

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Abdullah Rehman, 47, chief executive of the Balsall Heath Forum community group working with Bearded Broz, said it’s “complete chaos” because of the strike.

He said: “We have been left with open bags of nappies on the streets.

“It’s complete chaos and spiralling out of control.

“Lots of these houses have children living in them and there is a huge impact on health.”

Naveed Sadiq from Bearded Broz told the BBC that his organisation is working to clean up as much rubbish as it can.

He added: “We are quite upset that it has come to this, but I also feel that we have a responsibility.”

A series of talks between union Unite and the council failed to resolve the dispute – and more walkouts are planned for September.

The union claims that the restructuring will cost 120 jobs, while the council says it will save the city £5million a year.

In a statement Unite said: “There were talks earlier in the week with the chief executive of Birmingham council where there was a full and frank exchange of views.

“We regret that the people of Birmingham are suffering from the lack of collections but would ask them to step into the shoes of our members who have taken strike action as a last resort and at financial loss to themselves in order to protect their already low wages.

“We urge council bosses to resolve this dispute before it escalates further.”

Birmingham City Council said it is hoping for a resolution soon and that “positive discussions are continuing to take place with the unions”.