Birmingham declares major incident over bin strike

Birmingham city council has declared a major incident over an ongoing bin strike, saying the daily blocking of depots by picket lines means vehicles are unable to pick up 17,000 tonnes of uncollected rubbish across the city.

- Jessica Murray

The council said it was unable to carry out its contingency plan due to striking workers blocking lorries on the picket line, and there is now a risk to public health.

John Cotton, the leader of the council, said: "It's regrettable that we have had to take this step but we cannot tolerate a situation that is causing harm and distress to communities across Birmingham.

"I respect the right to strike and protest, however actions on the picket line must be lawful, and sadly the behaviour of some now means we are seeing a significant impact on residents and the city's environment.

"Unless we declare a major incident and deploy the waste service's contingency plan, we would be unable to clear the backlog of waste on the streets or improve the frequency of collections."