Birmingham gets help from neighbouring councils as rubbish grows
Nearly five weeks into the Birmingham bin strike, offers of help to clear the backlog of rubbish have come from some neighbouring authorities – but other councils have said they have to put their own residents first.Lichfield offered to send crews, Walsall extended tip opening hours and Telford provided support, but several councils said they did not have the resources.Telford said a group of West Midlands councils were asked to provide support to help clear waste, and it stepped in "without any impact to our residents".Meanwhile, a litter-picking group in Sparkhill told how "mountains" of bags were appearing on pavements "within hours".
All-out strike action began on 11 March following a dispute over bin workers' pay between Unite and Birmingham City Council, but talks ended in stalemate. The BBC has approached both parties for comment.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the government had called on councils "to provide mutual support" and was grateful a number had done so.A department spokesman said: "The people of Birmingham are our first priority. This dispute is causing misery and disruption to residents, and the backlog must be dealt with quickly to address public health risks."
Authorities who were unable to help included Bromsgrove, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Wolverhampton, Solihull, Stafford and Shropshire's contractor Veolia because they said they did not have the resources.Wolverhampton council leader Stephen Simkins said the authority had proposed other ways it might assist.
A Coventry City Council spokesman said the authority acknowledged the importance of cooperation but added: "Any decisions regarding assistance will be made based on local capacity and operational priorities."Meanwhile, Redditch remained in talks with Birmingham "to understand what support they need and to consider what support we might offer," a spokesman said.
Of those local authorities which provided support, Walsall said Birmingham residents with proof of residence could use their tips.Lichfield said support was being provided at a commercial rate, and Walsall said all costs of support would be recovered.
Lichfield's offer of help, one woman who had taken her rubbish to the tip each week wrote on Facebook: "A very big thank you to Lichfield District Council - the enormous piles of rubbish around my area are ridiculous."Other social media users criticised media reports and said many parts of the city were fine.
Abdul Khan, from volunteer group Sparkhill Litter Busters, said it was "bad in certain areas".He said bins were full, waste left nearby was mounting up, and people were dumping their rubbish on street corners: "The next thing you know, within a few hours, there's a whole mountain of bags."First there were the cats and rats, and now there is the heat with the warm weather, and health is a worry, he said.The litter group's coordinator added Birmingham City Council was now "playing catch-up" with 17,000 tonnes of rubbish.
Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
'The abuse was almost daily' - Grooming survivors share their stories
Five women from across England who were groomed and abused as children or young adults have told BBC Newsnight about the ongoing impact it has had on their were targeted by adult men, mainly from a British Asian background, often against the backdrop of chaotic upbringings. They shared their stories on the same day the government confirmed the publication of a review into grooming gangs has been delayed. Kate Elysia Kate Elysia - not her real name - was abused by a gang of men of Pakistani origin in the Shropshire town of was first raped when she was 18, shortly after moving out of her family home into a bedsit, and has previously estimated she was attacked by more than 70 said her attackers treated her like "she was nothing" and that they "wanted to turn me into what they wanted me to be, so they could justify abusing me".She said her abusers would harass her on her doorstep and send men to her home asking for sex."The abuse was almost daily," she said, sometimes "multiple men a day".Kate, now 36, gave evidence to an independent inquiry into gang grooming in Telford, which found that 1,000 girls had been targeted and "nervousness about race" led to abuse being ignored for of the men who abused Kate - Mohammed Ali Sultan and Shahmeel Khan - were convicted of rape and sexual who was considered a ringleader of the gang, was released in February by the independent parole board - a decision the government said it was "disappointed" was approved for open prison conditions in is calling for the government to block her abuser from going into a low-security prison and be given the right to have day release."I'm very concerned for the public, and I'm very concerned for myself," she described him as a "scary, violent individual" and that she fears for herself and the public if he is allowed back into the community."I don't think that he would be safe to leave prison at all." Zara Zara - not her real name - the first victim of prolific abuser David Saynor to share their story publicly, told BBC Newsnight it left her fighting a "battle that I'll always be in".Saynor used his limousine business to lure child victims in Rotherham - his trial heard how we would pick up young girls at schools and children's homes and offer them "promotional work"."[It] started off as that - just promoting, getting picked up in groups and driving around, drinking, dancing," she told was just 12 when she was first groomed by Saynor, a white British man who would give his victims alcohol, drugs and money before attacking them."The more you did, the more money he'd offer you... it became normal to do that," she said she and a friend were "getting picked up from school, getting picked outside our local youth club" but no adults raised concerns."It's impacted my whole life," Zara said. "From being the age of 12, I've not lived a normal life. "I witnessed Dave assault my friend, which is the first memory that I've got of that feeling of fear, like that unexplainable fear that comes over you. And I carry guilt with me for that."Last year, Saynor, 77, was jailed for 24 years after being found guilty of 15 offences against eight young girls - including two counts of rape and five counts of meeting a child following sexual Zara also alleged she was abused by another man from a British Pakistani background, who is due to go on trial. Zara said of that alleged abuse: "To me, in my head, he was my boyfriend... he didn't abuse me straight away, so I was convinced it was a normal relationship."Zara, who is from a mixed English and Asian background, said: "It was easy for me to accept the flattery and compliments and to feel wanted... I was kind of wanting to indulge in that side of my heritage because my dad wasn't present for a while."She said police officers stopped her and the alleged abuser on more than one occasion over suspicions about an older man being with a young girl, but that nothing was done which might have led to the abuse being uncovered. Fiona Fiona Goddard was abused by a predominantly British Asian grooming gang in Bradford from the age of 14, shortly after being taken into began after one of her abusers, Basharat Khaliq, took Fiona and her friend, also 14, to a petrol station to buy them vodka."The abuse started as being more coercive, but then the more you resisted it... by the end it was violent rapes," she said."The more you resisted and tried to point out what was going on the worse it got."Fiona recounted how she had told adults about the sexual assaults she had recalled being asked if she was being groomed, but at the time she didn't understand the meaning of the word. But when asked if the men had been violent, she said yes."We basically told them that we were being groomed without using the words, but they just never did nothing," she groomers plied her with drugs and gifts. A court heard that she was "in effect used as a prostitute" by another of her has previously recounted how she was driven to suicidal thoughts and self-harm as a February 2019, nine men were convicted of 22 offences against Fiona and jailed. Khaliq received 20 years for five counts of contacted by BBC Newsnight, a spokesperson for Bradford Council said there were "significant failings" in how Fiona was cared for and reiterated its apology to her. Chantelle Chantelle was groomed and raped by a gang of British Asian men in Manchester between 2003 and 2007, beginning when she was 11 years was in the care system at the time as her mother was in and out of prison."There was males approaching the children's home, giving us alcohol and drugs and putting us in cars," she ordeal began after she met a man in his early twenties who, at the time, she considered to be her has previously recalled how he introduced her to other men and she was given alcohol and drugs, before being forced to perform sex acts on them."They sexually abused us, drugged us... made us do things we didn't want to do," she said."It was the emotional and mental impact as well that used to make you feel like you only wanted them... so you keep going back."Chantelle also recounted the time she was reported as a missing child from the children's home and later found naked in a man's house by a female was then taken back to the children's home where she reported the abuse to the Chantelle later discovered that no police report was filed at the years on, she is now being asked by police to identify the officer who found her."The female officer who found me never put it on the system. The report is there that she found me, but none of the abuse that I told her had been logged," she case is being investigated by Greater Manchester Police. No one has been charged with an who is now 33, is also suing Manchester City Council for the abuse she endured while under its care.A spokesperson for the local authority said they were "deeply sorry" for what happened to her, and that she had been "let down by the system"."Not enough was done to protect her and other vulnerable young people in similar circumstances in the late 1990s and 2000," the spokesperson said. Jade Jade said she was abused by hundreds of men, primarily from a British Asian background, in the Buckinghamshire area from the age of 14 began after she left her mother's home to live with her father, a drug addict who introduced her to a chaotic upbringing, Jade believed those dealers could protect her - but from that point on, she says she was repeatedly attacked by adult men at parties while 2008, she was placed into care and a year later was made subject to a special safeguarding order for children who repeatedly going Jade was arrested and convicted of causing or inciting another girl to engage in sexual activity after being found by police at a party with another said she was "accused of taking girls out to get sexually assaulted" but "didn't have a clue what was happening"."It's police failure, social services failure," she remains a convicted sex offender but believes that none of the men she says abused her have been convicted of a to her conviction, she said she's had to fight social services to keep her children."I've never been allowed on school trips with my children," she explained."I'm not allowed to apply for jobs for the work I want to go into with vulnerable kids."Still trying to clear her name, Jade said the experience has "been the worst experience of my life"."It's just as bad as the abuse."It feels like I'm still being abused by them. It feels like they're still controlling my life."The Maggie Oliver Foundation - a survivors charity set up by a former police officer who raised concerns about how abusers in Rochdale were investigated - said it is supporting Jade to have her conviction overturned. What the data on grooming gangs shows The BBC has obtained new police data on the ethnicity of suspects arrested on suspicion of gang grooming offences in England and Wales in National Police Chiefs' Council (NPPC) figures indicated that British Pakistanis were substantially over-represented among 2024, of grooming gang suspects where an ethnicity was recorded, just over half were white British, and around one in eight were British Pakistani - even though one in 40 people in England and Wales were of Pakistani heritage according to the 2021 NPCC told Newsnight that the figures should be regarded with caution because just under a third of suspects had their ethnicity widespread failure to collect high quality data on abusers, victims and offences was criticised by the 2022 Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Chief Constable Becky Riggs, the NPCC's lead for child protection and abuse investigation, told BBC Newsnight that gang grooming offences had impacted every part of the country and cases were said: "I genuinely think out of 44 [police] forces, very few would say there isn't a crime of that type being investigated in their [area]." If you have been affected by any issues in this report, help and support is available on the BBC Action Line.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Telford woodland support group looks to help more veterans
A programme which supports former members of the armed forces and helps them adjust to civilian life has said it is always open to new project in the Lightmoor area of Telford, Shropshire, offers veterans the chance to learn new practical skills and preserve woodland, while allowing them to share experiences at the same group is funded by the Veterans Foundation and the woodlands programme is led by the Small Woods Association, with support from the Bournville Village TrustIt is based at a building known as Squatters Cottage where veterans "can enjoy and care for nature and in turn care for themselves," organisers said. Gary Morris left the RAF in 2004 after 23 years service and said it had been "a massive adjustment". Leaving the armed forces could be difficult for a number of reasons and many just missed being part of a community with a shared sense of humour, he peaceful environment in the woods gave him time "to shut off all the bad stuff that's happening in the world that I don't want to know about anymore thank you very much".Simon Cooper served for 10 years in the Royal Signals and said he suffered from a functional neurologic activities had given him back some of his mobility and strength, he enjoyed "sitting around having a chat with the veterans". Another veteran, Shaun Cleary, said it had taken him 10 years "to get back into civilian way of thinking and doing things". He said he valued the group because he got to be with people who "have been through similar type of things. "The military was one experience and coming back into civilian life is a completely different one".The Bournville Village Trust said "the programme is particularly vital for veterans facing challenges with their mental health".Bill Wells, who served in the Royal Logistics for nearly 10 years, agreed and said the programme "has given me a reason to get up every week, somewhere I feel I belong and a feeling of achievement while giving me the space I need when I need it". Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
World Craft City status for Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter
Birmingham's global influence in jewellery making has been recognised by being granted World Craft City Crafts Council President, Saad Al-Qaddumi, said the title celebrated the city's "rich heritage, skilled artisans, creative designers, proud makers, and innovative contributions to the jewellery industry."Only eight other cities in Europe have been awarded the title. This includes Stoke-on-Trent which was awarded the status last year for its pottery Jewellery Quarter Development Trust (JQDT) said the award "signifies a landmark moment for Birmingham and the wider West Midlands, placing the city's historic Jewellery Quarter firmly on the global stage." Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter sits close to the city centre and has been a manufacturing centre for more than 200 years. Shops only started to appear in the 1970s when manufacturers decided to sell to individual get the status, an international judging panel visited the School of Jewellery, established in 1890 and situated in a Grade II-listed building on Vittoria Street, where they took part in a silversmithing workshop and viewed the artistry and craftsmanship of current in the Jewellery Quarter, judges stopped at the Birmingham Assay Office, Cooksongold, and the historic Coffin Works. Birmingham's bid was led by JQDT and Birmingham City Council, while being supported by Birmingham City Council and the Goldsmiths Bott, the chair of JQDT, said: "This is a moment of real pride - not just for the Jewellery Quarter, but for Birmingham and the West Midlands. "We've always known the value of what happens here, and now the world does too. Our thanks go to everyone who helped us reach this point, and we look forward to working with partners old and new to build on this incredible foundation." With the designation now confirmed, the JQDT, supported by city curator Alex Nicholson-Evans, says it will use this recognition as a springboard for further ambition, starting with launching the Birmingham Jewellery Biennial, the UK's jewellery festival. Envisaged as a citywide celebration, plans for the biennial include open studios, jewellery fairs, heritage tours, a trade conference and a flagship exhibition - shining a spotlight on internationally acclaimed artists and emerging talent, selected through a UK-wide open also says the new status opens the door to international partnerships, funding opportunities and collaborative projects - for the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, and the West Midlands.A spokesperson for JQDT said: "With both the Jewellery Quarter and Stoke-on-Trent now recognised as World Craft Cities, the West Midlands is fast becoming a national leader in championing craft as culture. " Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
