Rubbish piles up in Birmingham as bin workers launch strike

Rubbish is piling up on the streets of Birmingham after bin workers launched an all-out, indefinite strike, with the council accusing the union of holding the city hostage.

- Jessica Murray

Almost 400 workers began the all-out strike yesterday morning. They have been striking intermittently since January in an escalating row over the scrapping of some roles. More than a million residents are likely to be affected.

There have been reports of overflowing bins and rubbish piled in the streets, with rat numbers increasing.

Craig Cooper, the strategic director of city operations at the council, told BBC Radio WM that the authority was "looking for this to stop as quickly as possible but the trade unions don't seem to want to negotiate". He added: "I feel that they are holding us and our residents hostage."