British Army called in to fight Birmingham rats after piles of rubbish grow
Soldiers have been called in to tackle huge piles of rubbish as Birmingham bin strikes continue.
The British Army have been sent to the city to help deal with the growing bin issues, which have been plaguing residents for weeks.
Birmingham declared a major incident after more than 17,000 tonnes of uncollected waste began littering the streets following a strike by members of Unite over the council’s plans to scrap some bin collection and recycling roles.
Now, the government has asked for help from the Army.
Soldiers will not be deployed to clear the rubbish piles, but they will provide logistical support behind the scenes, MailOnline reports.
A government spokesperson said: ‘The government has already provided a number of staff to support the council with logistics and make sure the response on the ground is swift to address the associated public health risks.
‘In light of the ongoing public health risk, a small number of office-based military personnel with operational planning expertise have been made available to Birmingham City Council to further support in this area.’
The Birmingham bin crisis has been going on for weeks after the council planned to downgrade some staff positions and cut pay – and the walkout could continue until the summer.
There have been reports of rats and cockroaches running wild, keeping pest controllers busy.
Locals told Metro previously they have stopped taking their bins out because they are too full.
Michael Hunt lives in central Birmingham and said: ‘I won’t be putting out any of my bins until the bins are all emptied.
‘I’ve been told by the bins will be emptied today by a private contractor.
‘A smell is going to develop if they are left here any longer. It will probably get worse as tenants will be leaving their rubbish by the side of the bins.
‘Thankfully I’m not aware of any rats yet.’
William Timms, the owner WJ Pest Solutions, said previously he has seen a 75% increase in callouts and that the ‘problem is only going to get worse.’
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