Residents of Birmingham are sounding the alarm as rats “the size of cats” overrun parts of the city, a crisis they attribute to an ongoing bin collectors’ strike and dwindling council services. In Drews Lane, Washwood Heath—an area already notorious as a rat hotspot—locals report rodents chewing through car cables, nesting in vehicle bonnets, and rummaging through wheelie bins with impunity.
Kim Blakeman, a long-time resident of Drews Lane, described the dire situation: “The rats are huge—they’re like small cats, and their tails are really chunky. They’re in and out of our recycling bins. The council doesn’t bother litter-picking our road anymore. People fly-tip, and it’s a perfect nesting site. The rats just come and feed in our bins.”
The escalation of Birmingham’s rat problem coincides with disruptions caused by the bin collectors’ strike, which has left rubbish piling up across neighbourhoods. Adding fuel to the fire, Birmingham City Council introduced a controversial £24 charge for rat control visits in 2024, a move critics have dubbed a “rat tax.” The council has admitted that missed bin collections have exacerbated the issue, but residents say the response has been inadequate.
“We’re left to fend for ourselves,” Blakeman added. “It’s disgusting and dangerous—something needs to be done.”
As the rodent invasion continues to plague Birmingham, residents are demanding urgent action to restore regular waste collections and tackle the growing public health threat. For now, the streets of Washwood Heath remain a playground for rats that, in the words of locals, “fear nothing and no one.”
Meanwhile, The Workers Union, supporting some of the city’s employees, distanced itself from the strike action. In a statement, the union said, “The Workers Union has a no-strike policy for this reason. We do not encourage societal disruption and would rather negotiate than strike. We believe in finding solutions that benefit everyone without letting situations spiral out of control like this.”
