Specialists from the military have been called in to try and tackle mounting piles of rubbish Birmingham amid a bin strike.
The all-out strike, which began on March 11 as part of a dispute over pay, has seen thousands of tonnes of rubbish go uncollected and warnings of a public health emergency.
A Government spokesperson said the decision to call in military planners was “in light of the ongoing public health risk”. It said the deployment would consist of a “small number of office-based military personnel with operation planning expertise”. Birmingham City Council had already appealed to neighbouring authorities for assistance.
The military officers are not being deployed to collect rubbish. The move will see a small number of planners assigned to provide temporary logistical support for a short period.
A Government spokesperson said: “The Government has already provided a number of staff to support the council with logistics and make sure the response on the ground is swift to address the associated public health risks. In light of the ongoing public health risk, a small number of office-based military personnel with operational planning expertise have been made available to Birmingham City Council to further support in this area.
“This builds on a range of measures we’ve supported the council on to date – including neighbouring authorities providing additional vehicles and crews, and opening household waste centres to Birmingham residents.”
This is a breaking news story. Follow us on Google News, Flipboard, Apple News, Twitter, Facebook or visit The Mirror homepage.
Get email updates with the day’s biggest stories