Chaos as residents swarm mobile bin collection

A mobile refuse collection service descended into chaos as Birmingham residents attempted to dispose of their ever-growing waste amid bin strikes.

The collection lorry was swarmed by so many people as it attempted to travel along Anderton Park Road, in Moseley, that a local councillor decided to call police.

Residents from surrounding neighbourhoods scrambled towards the lorry as the city continues to be plagued by piles of rubbish due to industrial action by refuse workers.

West Midlands Police said it was called to reports of people dumping rubbish in the road and officers continued to liaise with the local authority.

An officer at the scene told the BBC it was a waste of police resources, but said he understood people's anger as they had to live in the area.

Residents who dumped rubbish on the street were told they would be fined but some said they were willing to pay it as they were so desperate to get rid of their waste, the officer added.

It comes as West Midlands Police on Wednesday said there have been two arrests during the strike action.

The mobile service, which was scheduled to take place until 13:00 GMT, had to be called off two hours ahead of schedule as the lorry had reached capacity and safety concerns had been raised.

"We have a duty to keep people safe and ensure the road is clear and safe to use," the force said.

One resident who lived on Anderton Park Road said the service had caused "a commotion".

"People who aren't residents are parking up and leaving rubbish outside of my house. It was very noisy with people honking, it wouldn't be a problem if they were doing it in a decent way, but the people who came here didn't care," Hafeeza told the BBC.

"Of course there is a bin crisis but people were bringing garden waste."

West Midlands Police said over the past three weeks, the force had worked alongside the council during the industrial action.

Two people have been arrested in that time.

A man was arrested for drugs possession on Monday and referred for drug treatment.

Another man was arrested on Tuesday for obstruction and cautioned.

"We will continue to attend sites across the city to ensure there are no breaches of the peace and bin lorries are able to leave or return to sites in a safe and timely manner," the force said.

"Stopping the collection of waste is considered a risk for public health and safety."

The Liberal Democrat councillor for Moseley ward, Izzy Knowles, said: "We knew it was going to be busy."

She said the team agreed to put extra wagons on but it was so busy it became dangerous.

"People were stopping in the middle of the road to unload their bags," she said.

"People were going to the wagons to put the rubbish in themselves, which you shouldn't do, and emptying wheelie bins in the road."

Police arrived to deal with traffic management and the decision was taken to suspend the service early for bags to be cleared that had been left in the road.

"That's very regretful but somebody was going to get hurt," she said.

Ms Knowles said there was a traffic island at the spot and people were walking across the road with wheelie bins while traffic was trying to manoeuvre around them.

"It was very difficult to manage," she said. "I think the police made the right decision."

The Moseley ward's Labour councillor, Kerry Jenkins, said the mobile service was introduced a couple of years ago to help residents get rid of bulky waste as well as furniture and electricals.

Originally, it also took recycling.

She said the service, which is scheduled months in advance, was not for household waste but she understood why people had brought theirs.

"A lot of residents are having waste piling up and so I can understand that but that's not what this service is about," she said.

Unite union members began on-off strikes in January, but just over a week ago moved to all-out action in a dispute over pay and working conditions.

It centres on what Unite said was the downgrading of a health and safety role, which it said would cost affected staff £8,000 a year.

The city council disputes the sum quoted by the union and the numbers of staff affected, adding that it had offered alternatives including promotion to driver roles.

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