GB News presenter Andrew Pierce branded Birmingham's bin crisis as "just disgusting" after the city council declared a major incident due to 17,000 tonnes of uncollected waste.
The ongoing bin strike, now in its fourth week, has led to what officials are calling a "public health emergency".
Andrew expressed his disgust on GB News as images showed overflowing rubbish across the city.
In a conversation with co-host Nana Akua, Andrew said: "They've now had to declare a major incident amid the ongoing bin strike.
Nana Akua said: "It’s estimated that 17,000 tons of waste remain uncollected in the city, with rats the size of cats running about. And not a word from our Prime Minister or Sir Keir Starmer. Embarrassing, isn’t it, Andrew?"
Andrew responded: "It is. And remember, I’m not being party-political here, but we have to make the point this is a Labour-run council. It went bankrupt.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
"I don’t know if it was this year or last year, but one of the most basic functions of a local council is to empty the bins.
"This is taking me back to the winter of discontent in 1978, when we weren’t even burying the dead. That was under Labour. This is shocking.
"Some of these piles of rubbish are actually moving. We can see foxes in and out. It’s just terrible because the rodents are in the middle of the rubbish, moving it along. This has been going on for three weeks."
Nana said: "I mean, all we need now is some sort of awful disease because of this. This is the sort of thing that happened many years ago."
She added: "It looks like people have hired skips to try and put the rubbish in. The bins are piling up, with black bin liners or bins all across the side of the road."
Andrew explained: "And it’s the rodent issue. Some cars are even colliding with massive rats now. And it’s damaging the cars, they’re so big. It’s just... it’s disgusting."
The council declared the major incident on Monday evening after determining it could no longer cope with the crisis.
This declaration gives the council "leeway to bring in more help from outside agencies to collect rubbish".
The dispute centres on the council's decision to remove a waste recycling and collection officer role, which Unite describes as "safety-critical".
The union claims bin workers will lose pay if the move goes ahead, with Unite stating it would lead to "pay cuts of up to £8,000 for 150 workers".
Council leader John Cotton said: "I respect the right to strike and protest, however actions on the picket line must be lawful."
The council normally deploys around 200 vehicles over eight-hour daily shifts, but the contingency plan allows for just 90 vehicles per day.
Find Out More...
The ongoing bin strike, now in its fourth week, has led to what officials are calling a "public health emergency".
Andrew expressed his disgust on GB News as images showed overflowing rubbish across the city.
In a conversation with co-host Nana Akua, Andrew said: "They've now had to declare a major incident amid the ongoing bin strike.
Nana Akua said: "It’s estimated that 17,000 tons of waste remain uncollected in the city, with rats the size of cats running about. And not a word from our Prime Minister or Sir Keir Starmer. Embarrassing, isn’t it, Andrew?"
Andrew responded: "It is. And remember, I’m not being party-political here, but we have to make the point this is a Labour-run council. It went bankrupt.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
- Major incident declared in Birmingham over bins as 'health and environmental hazard' alert issued
- Labour urged to call Cobra meeting as Birmingham bin strike crisis grows - 'Locals are suffering!'
- REVEALED: Devastating cost of Birmingham’s street cleanup laid bare amid bin collection strike chaos
"I don’t know if it was this year or last year, but one of the most basic functions of a local council is to empty the bins.
"This is taking me back to the winter of discontent in 1978, when we weren’t even burying the dead. That was under Labour. This is shocking.
"Some of these piles of rubbish are actually moving. We can see foxes in and out. It’s just terrible because the rodents are in the middle of the rubbish, moving it along. This has been going on for three weeks."
Nana said: "I mean, all we need now is some sort of awful disease because of this. This is the sort of thing that happened many years ago."
She added: "It looks like people have hired skips to try and put the rubbish in. The bins are piling up, with black bin liners or bins all across the side of the road."
Andrew explained: "And it’s the rodent issue. Some cars are even colliding with massive rats now. And it’s damaging the cars, they’re so big. It’s just... it’s disgusting."
The council declared the major incident on Monday evening after determining it could no longer cope with the crisis.
This declaration gives the council "leeway to bring in more help from outside agencies to collect rubbish".
The dispute centres on the council's decision to remove a waste recycling and collection officer role, which Unite describes as "safety-critical".
The union claims bin workers will lose pay if the move goes ahead, with Unite stating it would lead to "pay cuts of up to £8,000 for 150 workers".
Council leader John Cotton said: "I respect the right to strike and protest, however actions on the picket line must be lawful."
The council normally deploys around 200 vehicles over eight-hour daily shifts, but the contingency plan allows for just 90 vehicles per day.
Find Out More...