A council plagued by bin strikes is to ask the Government for help clearing up rubbish. Birmingham city council has been forced to declare a major incident over a three-week pay dispute which has seen household waste pile high in the streets.

Birmingham City Council has declared a major incident over a bin strike and said that picket lines blocking its depots are preventing waste vehicles from collecting 17,000 tonnes of rubbish

Birmingham City Council has confirmed it is sticking with its controversial ‘rat tax’ despite the ongoing bins strike leaving an estimated 17,000 tonnes of uncollected waste.