Bags of rubbish pile up in street after binmen call in sick at Christmas

Rubbish has been left piling up on the streets of Birmingham after binmen called in sick over the Christmas period.

Photos taken in Balsall Heath show full black bin bags stacked up on the pavement outside people’s homes due to staff shortages.

One resident from the area claimed he had already seen rats among the waste from split bags on the ground.

He said: ‘It’s an absolute disgrace that once again people in Birmingham are not having their rubbish collected.

‘I walked outside yesterday and saw two large rats chewing at a meat carcass that had spilled out of an over-filled bin bag.

‘It was like this when the bin men went on strike and now we’re being told they had to reduce collections due to staff illness.

‘How convenient that so many staff go down with a bug over Christmas. It’s disgusting.’

Another person in Sparkbrook stated that the site of the rubbish was ‘seriously grim at this time of year’.

They added: ‘I refuse to let my children play outside in case they get bitten by vermin or fall over the piles of rubbish. The council are hopeless.’

It could be up to four weeks until the litter is removed, as many recycling and waste collections already cancelled to accommodate the holidays.

On December 30, Birmingham City Council wrote online: ‘Due to staff sickness and absence some bin rounds [were] not completed today – apologies if yours was missed.

‘Please leave bins out. If not collected within 48 hours, take it back in until next scheduled collection.’

They also noted that five household recycling centres are open daily for use this week if proof of Birmingham residence is provided.

Birmingham City Council have been contacted for further comment.