Rats the size of cats scurrying through the streets in broad daylight, an overpowering stench permeating the air, rubbish pouring out of black bags that are piling up across the city – welcome to the new normal for the people of Birmingham.
Residents are now used to stepping out of their front doors into towering, reeking piles of bin bags right outside their homes, sometimes more than 5ft high. In fact it has become impossible for them to go about their daily lives without being confronted by mounds of rubbish, with an estimated 17,000 tonnes of waste uncollected around the city this week.
