Plague of rats thriving amid Labour-run Birmingham's bin strike crisis
Rats on the streets of Birmingham
Warmer weather could prove fatal for Birmingham residents as the ongoing waste crisis could turn from bad to worse, experts have warned.
The city has been plagued by ongoing bin strikes, causing streets to pile high with an estimated 170,000 tons of rubbish.
Workers have been striking for weeks following plans by the Labour-run Birmingham City Council to reduce waste collection roles and pay in a bid to shore up its finances.
The strikes began on March 11 when members on the Unite union walked out over the long-running dispute.
The local authority in the city has since declared a 'major incident' amid growing concerns about public health.
Now, with highs of 21C forecast for the coming week, the increased heat could put residents at a huge risk of disease.
As rats continue to thrive in the city's squalor, with some reported being 'the size of cats', concerns have been raised the animals could begin to spread Weil's disease.
The potentially fatal disease is a bacterial infection which is found in the urine of wild animals. It is known to spread faster in warm weather.
Birmingham City Council is declaring a major incident
Rubbish piled up in Birmingham
Infectious disease expert Dr Elizabeth Sheridan told The Telegraph that Weil's - can be spread by rats - is what she is most concerned about for residents.
She said the heat makes rats breed faster, creating a higher risk of people coming in contact with the creature's urine.
She added: 'Most people don't know if they have been exposed to rat urine. You are at risk if you handle things that rats have been running over and that gets into your system.
'For example, if you were handling bin bags and it got into your eyes or you put your hands in your mouth.
'If anyone is handling stuff where rats have been, they should wear gloves and wash their hands.'
Dr Sheridan said that the disease can prove fatal in certain cases, but added that most people will have a fever that can be treated with antibiotics.
Older people with weaker immune systems though are most at risk to the worst symptoms.
Between 2020 and 2023, there were on average 57 confirmed cases and 89 probable cases of Weil's disease, according to the UK Health Secretary Agency.
BIRMINGHAM: A dead rodent pictured on a street in the city as mountains of rubbish continue to pile high
Birmingham's streets are covered in waste, attracting vermin, particularly rats
A rubbish mountain
Symptoms include vomiting, headaches, body aches, tummy aches and a high temperature.
In 2010, Olympic gold medalist rower Andy Holmes died from the disease after a 26-mile sculling marathon.
Adam Kent, a Worcestershire councillor for the Wythall area, revealed the problem in a photo he posted on social media last month. He called the contrast 'deeply concerning'.
To make matters worse for cash-strapped Birmingham City Council, which was declared effectively bankrupt in 2023, want to increase the 'rat tax' - the charging for pest control - a service which was previously free.
Outraged locals now have to pay £24 per per call out but the council plans to hike prices once again to £26.40.
Rebel councillor Sam Forsyth has slammed the Labour-run council, telling BirminghamLive she had 'no choice' but to vote against their budget proposals as increased 'rat tax' would hit the city's poorest the hardest.
But speaking at Prime Minister's Questions on April 2, Sir Keir Starmer said: 'In relation to the situation in Birmingham, it is completely unacceptable.'
A dead rodent found by a MailOnline reporter on their visit to the rat-infested city
The mounds of waste continue to grow, and the rodents feast on the rubbish
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.
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 and 10-15ft 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.
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.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14578113/Infectious-disease-Birmingham-bin-strikes-rats.html
Chelworth Road in the Walkers Heath area of Birmingham sits on the boundary line. Labour-run Birmingham City Council is responsible for bin collections on the left; and Bromsgrove District Council, part of Conservative-run Worcestershire County Council, carries them out on the right
Rubbish bags piled up on the Birmingham council side of Chelworth Road in Walkers Heath
Will Timms, known locally as Birmingham's 'rat man,' is called out to help with rat infestations
Mr Timms said the size of rats in Birmingham is growing, with some now as big as small dogs
Rubbish piling up in the streets
Street cleaning needed
Rubbish bags sprawl out into the road in Birmingham
Vote Labour and you get rats. The Tories are demanding action over the dispute that has left England's second city looking like a bomb site.
Tons of rubbish has been left uncollected and the city is increasingly being plagued by large rats feasting on the contents of bags.
Fury at Birmingham councillor who went on 'holiday' to Egypt while city overflows with rubbish
Councillor Majid Mahmood has been criticised for 'stabbing his colleagues in the back' after going on 'holiday'
The Labour Councilor went to Egypt last month to deliver food to Pallys
Refuse management staff have criticised him for leaving Birmingham while 17,000 tons of uncollected rubbish remain
Cllr Mahmood shared images of him 'overseeing and packaging the food parcels on behalf of the donors from Birmingham and further afield'
Cllr Mahmood explained that 'charity work is an important aspect of Ramadan"
A huge pile-up of waste on the streets
A huge population of rats has thrived in the waste
