Rats the size of rabbits are still stalking the streets of Birmingham a year after bin workers staged an all-out strike.
Britain’s second largest city has been described as a ‘slum area’ and ‘as bad as Victorian Britain’ as it continues to reel from one of the longest-running industrial disputes of modern times.
Union members have been on all-out strike for a year in protest at plans to reform the city’s bin collection service.
Shocking photos taken exactly a year after Unite the Union began its strike show massive rats rummaging through uncollected rubbish.
As well as rats, the streets are still lined with fly-tipping, dumped rubbish, bin bags and litter.
Locals have said it is a ‘living hell’ and have called on the union and the council to end the strikes, which are making their lives ‘unbearable’.
The issue is particularly problematic in the inner-city area of Small Heath.
One mum said: ‘It’s a hellhole. It’s a living hell. The rats are the size of rabbits. It’s not safe for our children.
Shocking photos taken exactly a year on from when Unite the Union began their strike show massive rats rummaging through uncollected rubbish
Locals have said it is a ‘living hell’ and have called on the union and the council to end the strikes, which are making their lives ‘unbearable’
‘We feel under attack. It’s horrific. I hate it. I’d move if I could but we’re on a waiting list for another council house but nothing is being done.
‘It’s like living in a slum. It’s Victorian Britain but in 2026.’
Local Kath Simpson, 34, said she had been regularly ‘physically sick’ because of the rats and the rubbish.
She said: ‘Trying to raise a family around here is dreadful. I cannot stand it.
‘When will this end? My children are just used to seeing rats. They’re massive. It’s dangerous.
‘It feels like a never-ending cycle though. I cannot see how this will end.’
With no end in sight for the strike, the dispute has dragged on with scenes of chaos after bin bags piled up on the streets.
This week, union Unite announced they would cut the fee it pays to Labour by nearly £600,000 over the party’s handling of the Birmingham bin strike.
Rats the size of rabbits are still stalking the streets of Birmingham a year after bin workers staged an all-out strike
As well as rats, the streets are still lined with fly-tipping, dumped rubbish, bin bags and litter across the streets
In an unprecedented move, members voted to reduce the money it pays as an affiliate union by 40 per cent.
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said workers were asking if Labour was on their side and were ‘coming to the end of the line’ with the party.
Union members blame the Labour council for refusing to meet their demands as they claim the reforms will lead to lower pay.
The Birmingham bin strike started a year ago and has become one of the most intractable disputes of modern times.
Birmingham City Council said it would start a new waste collection regime in the summer, including a reinstated recycling service, even if strike action continued.