The Tories have slammed Labour-run Birmingham council after it was revealed the authority has launched free rat catching services for residents as the bin strike shows no sign of going away. Amid the local health crisis, residents have reported seeing rats ‘the size of cats’ as a consequence of the local Labour administration’s failure to resolve the bin strike.

Today the council quietly amended the prices of its pest control services in an acknowledgement of the public health chaos created by the ongoing bin strike. The cost of catching rats in the garden or in a resident’s home has been made “temporarily free”. According to the last available price of this service, this is a cut of £26.40 per visit.

Kevin Hollinrake MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said: “At least the rat catchers will be happy, but local taxpayers won’t be! It is a sad state of affairs that Birmingham’s Labour-run council are now having to whack their council tax payers with the costs of rat-catching services. This is what happens when basic services collapse.

“Residents are wading through waste that the council fails to clean up, while taxpayers are also forced to fund the clean-up of a mess entirely of Labour’s making. A functioning council would collect the bins, but Labour’s chaos has turned Britain’s second city into a battleground for vermin.

“And yet Labour’s West Midlands Mayor claims he hasn’t seen a single rat. That tells you everything you need to know about how out of touch they are. Only a vote for the Conservatives on the 1st of May will deliver better services, lower taxes, and councils that get the basics right.”

Speaking this afternoon, the leader of Birmingham City Council called on the trade union workers to “accept reality”.

Council leader John Cotton urged Unite Union staff to accept that previously-cut jobs “cannot be brought back”.

“To make progress Unite must accept reality. We will not be able to make progress until Unite accepts that the WRCO role cannot be brought back and that the council cannot and will not entertain anything that would re-open an equal pay liability.

“That wouldn’t be fair for residents or workers and is a red line for Birmingham City Council.”

He continued: “We are open to good faith negotiations on the basis of the fair and reasonable offer on the table. In the meantime, we are making good progress in clearing up the backlog of waste.”

Birmingham waste collectors have removed 21,000 tonnes of rubbish from across the city’s streets since the start of the month.

A council spokesman added: “We know there’s more to do and we’ll continue to clear the rubbish on the streets.

"Please don’t dump your rubbish, this will delay our crews from usual collections and is considered fly-tipping."