Residents on 'one of Britain's grimmest streets' say their homes are invaded by rats due to mountains of rubbish which can be seen from space and haven't been cleared in 10 years.
Locals living on Nineveh Road, in Handsworth, Birmingham, have criticised council bosses who have left the piles of waste to fester near their properties for a decade. The huge mounds of fly-tipped trash have been dumped in an alleyway which run between their street and Bacchus Road, blighting homeowner's lives for years.
The stinking 7ft tall piles now stretch around the back of several homes and contain fridges, freezers, mattresses, sofas, a moped and even human waste. Parents say they refuse to let their children play outdoors anymore due to the health hazard along the residential street in the city suburb.
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They also say giant rats are running riot inside their homes and residents are now calling on Birmingham City Council to act after years of 'doing nothing'.
Dad-of-one Tobias Brown, 39, a tree surgeon, said: "It's so rank and it's got really embarrassing to live around here in all honesty. My mates take the mickey and say I live on the grimmest street in the country and I don't have much of a comeback as it's probably true.
"The mess around there is disgraceful and I can't believe we're living like this in a cosmopolitan city like Birmingham that had been trying to improves its image."
Modupe Adejumo, 59, a resident support worker, who also lives nearby, said: "It’s so bad, there's lot of rats around. The council or whoever are in charge should clear it and make it useful for residents.
"Our landlord has called on Birmingham Council to act - the street is just a mess, people just drop rubbish everywhere That alleyway is supposed to be a fire exit and we can’t make use of the garden because we can smell it from outside. We also have a small baby so it really isn't ideal."
Grandfather-of-six and local landlord Kulvinder Raindi, 63, has also called on the council to track down and fine those responsible.
Dad-of-four Mr Raindi, a clothing business owner from Handsworth, said: "It's absolutely disgusting. There's just mountains of garbage. My late brother's wife lives along this road and over the years it has just got progressively worse and we have asked many times for it to be sorted.
"When my brother was alive there was a yard around the back which acted as a play area for children but its a massive health hazard now. It stretches all the way around and there's every type of rubbish you could think of there - it's very dangerous and a breeding ground for vermin.
“We’ve asked many times for this to be cleared up but they say it is private land. Yet the council still have enforcement powers and ways to find out who the belongs to - they just haven't been bothered to.
“This has been here for so many years and all the council has to do is remove it and bill the owner. They should have CCTV here to find out who’s actually dumping this. There was a petition signed by loads of people a few years back and I even sent them photos -but nothing is being done and I’m really annoyed about it.
“I house tenants next to it and they complain about rats. We just want it cleared up. The problem is as soon as on person does it more follow suit and it just gets worse. The council does have a duty to help because it's a huge health and safety hazard."
Birmingham City Council’s environmental chief, Councillor Majid Mahmood, said: “Private alleyways are the responsibility of the owners and residents to keep tidy. Fly-tipping harms where we all have to live and work and is carried out by environmental criminals that have no regard for our neighbourhoods or their well-being.
“We have plenty of lawful options for people to responsibly dispose of waste or unwanted items. There are Household Recycling Centres around the city and for those who struggle to get to them we have our popular free-to-use Mobile Household Recycling Centres.
“We will always prosecute fly-tippers when we can but we need reports and evidence and the most effective way to do this is to contact our Waste Enforcement Team directly. Anyone with any information on any dumped waste in Birmingham should give details via www.birmingham.gov.uk/flytipping.
“Residents can also get in touch with our Love Your Streets teams to arrange a community clean up where we will assist with clearing private alleyways provided there is some support from residents."
