UK calls in military planners to tackle rats

London: The UK government on Monday called in military planners to help local officials combat the health crisis of mounting rubbish and rats on the streets of Birmingham as talks remain ongoing to resolve a nearly month-long strike by the city’s bin collectors over a pay dispute.

Birmingham City Council had declared a “major incident” at the end of last month with around 17,000 tonnes of waste uncollected across the city in the West Midlands region of England. Ministers and local council members have since been focussed on addressing rising concerns of risks to public health. “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,” a UK government spokesperson said.

The Unite workers’ union said a vote by its striking members on a “partial deal” to end their industrial action is planned for later

on Monday.