Residents swarm bin lorry in strike-hit Birmingham as rats the ‘size of baby MONKEYS’ infest rubbish-strewn streets_nhy
Desperate residents in strike-hit Birmingham swarmed a bin lorry this morning as a pest controller warned rats the size of baby monkeys were now infesting the rubbish-strewn suburbs.
The monster rodents can be seen ‘on a daily basis’ scurrying among the mountains of uncollected waste which have been dumped by city roadsides, Britain’s busiest pest controller said.
William Timms, known locally as Birmingham’s ‘rat man’, also claimed police had even been called out to shoot some of the rats due to the sheer volume of vermin plaguing the second city
He spoke out as a mobile collection – a bin lorry in a static location allow
ing residents whose bins aren’t being collected to drop their rubbish off – was overrun by householders in inner-city Tyseley this morning.
The scenes, which saw residents dragging full wheelie bins through a small park, mirrored similarly chaotic situation at another static collection a fortnight ago in nearby Moseley.
This morning, a mound of bin bags the length of six cars was piled up beside the green space , where the entrance play park was also littered with dumped refuse.
Mountains of waste reached four of five feet high in places along nearby roadsides.
Tyseley resident Danny Carter, 33, said: ‘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 flytip.
‘People are fed up but this is just disgusting. I think it’s a public health emergency, we can’t go on like this. It is utter carnage.’
Another exasperated resident said: ‘This park was cleaned up in time for Eid (on Sunday) and now look at it.’
One binman who was out collecting the rubbish said: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire career. It is the worst I have ever seen in my life.’
A bin bag mountain also appeared next to the park last night after word spread locally that a static collection was due to take place and residents began dumping their rubbish at the collection point.
Residents swarmed around three bin lorries in Tyseley at a ‘mobile collection’ this morning
Rats the size of baby monkeys are infesting Birmingham streets, according to a local pest controller
Residents drag wheelie bins full of rubbish through a park to reach the static collection in Tyseley
Mounds of rubbish were dumped at the site of a scheduled mobile rubbish collection in Tyseley
Mounds of rotting rubbish accumulate as residents queue to despose of their waste
Ironically, Tyseley is the location of one of the Labour-run city’s municipal refuse and recycling centres.
Mr Timms, who runs WJ Pest Solutions, says he caught a 22 inch rat last week – the same size as a ferret, some monkeys or a small dog – and has only had one day off in nearly three months.
He said: ‘The issue is getting out of control. There are bags piled 5ft high and10-15ft across.
‘Rats the size of kittens are being seen daily. I had one last week that measured over 22in in length.’
Mr Timms said that ‘on the odd occasion’ West Midlands Police had been called out to help deal with the problem, but the force today denied that it’s firearms unit had been involved in tackling the rodent menace.
Other pest controllers across Birmingham say they have also seen business levels double since the strikes began and there’s also been a surge in cockroaches.
Nearly 400 council bin workers in Birmingham began indefinite strike action last month as part of a row over jobs and pay.
William Timms says he captured a 22-in specimen last week with amid Birmingham’s ongoing bin strikes
The giant rats have been plaguing Birmingham suburbs for weeks as mounds of rubbish bags accumulate
Bags of rubbish are almost as high as this resident wheeling her overflowing bin to the collection lorry
Desperate residents stood in line to despose of their waste
Mr Timms added: ‘Work increase has been 50 per cent more compared to previous years. Cockroach calls have also gone up too.
‘As a born and bred Brummie I feel disgusting how the city looks.
‘On my street alone we have bins that haven’t been collected, with black sacks starting to pile up, I had a day off for the first time in two months as my wife and body were telling me it’s time for a break.’
On Monday, a major incident was declared by Birmingham City Council after the ongoing bin strike left 17,000 tonnes of uncollected rubbish piling high in the streets.
Bankrupt Birmingham City Council claimed the problem has been compounded by striking binmen blocking its depots with pickets – meaning vehicles struggle to leave to collect waste.
The rat infestation has become so bad the rodents have been dubbed the Squeaky Blinders because they appear to have the city in their grip – much like the Peaky Blinders gang of the late nineteenth century which inspired the BBC drama series of the same name.
Stuart Howes, managing director of Greenlab Pestcontrol in Birmingham, said they were getting 30-50 per cent more call outs.
Mr Timms revealed police had even been called out to shoot some rats due to the sheer volume of vermin feasting on rubbish
He said: ‘On average we are currently experiencing 30-50 per cent more call-outs due to the bin strikes, this applies to both business and residential properties across Birmingham as a whole.
‘We serve around 700 business customers in the West Midlands and the high ratio of call outs within Birmingham itself compared to other regions is evident.
‘Bearing in mind that our peak season for rat call outs is usually October – February during the cooler months, this is out of the normal range and is significant.
‘We are mainly experiencing call outs to gardens and driveways where rats are now being sighted on a regular basis as they scavenge for the abundance of food that has now kindly been left out for them by Birmingham Council.
‘Rats are certainly gaining size, again due the on-going supply of food that has been left on the doorsteps.
‘The rapid reduction rates coupled with a never ending food source has left a vastly over populated rat population literally on Birmingham residents doorsteps.’
Sharon Nicol, director of Birmingham Pest Control Ltd, said: ‘We’ve had to order three times as many bait stations in because we’re so busy.
‘The demand has definitely increased since the strikes began.’
The Unite union says its members face pay cuts after the scrapping of waste collection and recycling officer roles. But the Labour-run council has insisted its offer is ‘fair and reasonable’.
Birmingham City Council also disputes Unite’s claims that 150 workers could lose £8,000 per year in pay, and insists plans to restructure the service are a crucial part of the authority’s efforts to become financially sustainable.
In September 2023 the council effectively declared itself bankrupt after facing a £760m equal pay bill and an £80m overspend on an IT project, triggering a restructuring as it attempts to save £300m over two years.
One road on a council boundary line is a stark illustration of the crisis – with black sacks piled high on one pavement, but the other side completely clean and empty.
Chelworth Road in the Walkers Heath area of the city sits right on the city’s boundary with Bromsgrove District Council. Mounds of rubbish were pictured piled up on the Birmingham side of the road, while the other side, serviced by bin lorrys from the Worcestershire local authority, was clean.
Adam Kent, a Worcestershire councillor for the Wythall area, revealed the problem in a photo he posted on social media on March 21 which was later widely shared.
Unite has warned bin disruption in Birmingham could stretch into the summer after refuse workers voted in favour of extending their strike mandate over the council’s use of temporary labour to ‘undermine’ their industrial action.
The council has said 90 waste collection crews are still out collecting bins, out of a total of 200, with residents being urged still to put their bins out for crews to collect when they could.
