Council row boils over as locals charged 'rat tax' to remove rodents despite ongoing bin strikes and surge in fly-tipping

Now, residents have been fuelled with fury as they must pay extra to remove the vermin - which has been described as large as "small cats" - hidden behind their bins and even under car bonnets.

Outlined in its latest budget proposals, the city's Labour-run "cash-strapped" council is now introducing a fee for residents to pay for pest control to combat its vivacious vermin problem.

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Disgusted locals have reported that their car mechanics have been gnawed at, while their bins have offered an ample buffet for the rodents.

One resident said that the problem was an "embarrassing situation for a major city".

The problem is particularly acute in Drews Lane, Washwood Heath, which is an area already known as a rat hotspot. Kim Blakeman, who lives on the road, told the BBC: "The rats are huge - they are like small cats and their tails are really chunky.

"They are in and out of our recycling bins and since HS2 has started across the road we've had more of an influx."

STOP TRASHING BRITAIN:

• Locals distraught as large rats 'the size of cats' attack their cars chewing through cables
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Previously, the city's pest control service was free.

Locals were then forced to swallow a £24 per call out charge and now prices have risen to £26.40.

Councillor Sam Forsyth has hit out at the local Labour councillors, as she told BirminghamLive that she had "no choice" but to vote against their budget plans. Such fee, she claimed, would end up targeting the poorest across the city.

Currently, more bin strikes are scheduled from March 11 as refuse collectors demand that the council offer better pay and working conditions.

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The industrial action will follow weeks of absolute upheaval in Birmingham as piles of rubbish begin to mount throughout the city's streets when refuse collectors went on strike for just a few days over January and February.

A Birmingham City Council spokesman said: "Whilst we acknowledge that industrial action is causing missed bin collections across the city we continue to ensure every household receives at least one collection per week."

Previously, HS2 said: "The health and safety of our workforce and the public is HS2's number one priority."

They added that "enclosed waste skips are used for bagged waste and are emptied regularly, with weekly site inspections" to check waste management.