Stinking rubbish mountains still plague Birmingham six months into bin strike

These photos show how Birmingham’s streets are still piled high with rubbish six months after the city’s bin strikes began.

Fed up residents say overflowing bins and piles of waste are making life a misery as the industrial action continues.

Negotiations between union chiefs and council leaders continue, but there still appears to be no end in sight half a year on.

READ MORE: Cancer doctor blames Covid after downloading sick images of girls as young as four

READ MORE: Swindon 'stabbing': Armed police rush to house with man 'covered in blood'

Locals say they feel "forgotten about" as parts of Birmingham remain plagued by overflowing rubbish and foul smells.

Families say their health is at risk because the rubbish attracts infestations of giant rats dubbed the ‘Squeaky Blinders’.

Photos show huge mounds of rubbish littering the pavements, including dumped mattresses, rotting food, and black bin bags.

Student Bethany Campbell, 22, who lives in the Selly Oak, said: “We just can't believe it's still going on. What is taking so long? The decision makers probably don't even live in Birmingham, so they have no idea what a nightmare this is for us.

“The place stinks, it looks atrocious and residents just feel like they are being forgotten about. Nobody should live like this in modern Britain."

Danny Carter, 33, from Tyseley, added: “It is completely unacceptable this has been allowed to go on for so long.

"We had thousands of visitors from across the globe over the weekend for the Sabbath concert. This isn't how we want people to remember our city."

Theo Charlton, 21, told the BBC the situation got worse as students returned home at the end of term.

“"The other day I was looking at everyone moving out and it was apocalyptic the amount of rubbish left behind,” he said.

"People don't prepare for leaving, they just dump so much stuff.

“I thought to myself, 'that's going to be there for ages, it's not going to get collected."

The walkout began in January over pay cuts of up to £8,000 impacting around 400 staff.

The workers have a mandate to continue striking until December.

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said the union would be “relentless” in its pursuit of a fair deal.

Birmingham city council praised community groups for helping to clear waste during the “challenging time”.

A spokesperson added: “We remain committed to resolving the industrial action in the best interest of all parties involved.