Army planners sent in to help clear Birmingham’s rubbish piles

Thousands of tonnes of rubbish in Birmingham has gone uncollected since industrial action began. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

Office-based military specialists have been called in to deal with the mounting piles of rubbish on the streets of Birmingham after a month-long strike by refuse workers.

Tens of thousands of tonnes of rubbish have gone uncollected and Birmingham city council has declared a major incident and issued a public health warning since the all-out-strike by Unite union members began on 11 March.