Vermin are on the rise because of waste piling up in the streets.

Last week, Cityclean staff at Brighton and Hove City Council refused to work for two days because of a row with officials over plans to revamp its system of allowances.

Due to the bank holiday, it meant there were no collections from tens of thousands of households, as well as hundreds of communal bins, for three days.

The local authority apologised for any inconvenience to residents and repeated the plea for householders to take their waste to the tip if possible.

But, with residents complaining about rats and foxes raiding rubbish outside their homes, the GMB union confirmed its members would be balloted for official industrial action, with a possible strike beginning in June.

James Elwood-Churchill, 35, of Goldstone Villas, Hove, contacted The Argus after finding rats in his street.

He said: “To strike for so long is placing public health at risk, attracting rodents and other scavenging animals.

“The council should draft in some of the 2.5 million unemployed people to fill in for the striking workers.

“I’m sure they would be grateful for a job and chance to earn some money.”

Colin Christie, of Denmark Villas, Hove, said: “Industrial action is one thing, but the total lack of response by the council and disregard to taxpayers is shocking and unacceptable.

“Mystreet is a disgrace, with litter and rotting rubbish scattered everywhere around the communal bins.”

Guy Andrews, of Brighton-based PGS Services, said that demand for pest control engineers in the city had risen by about 27% in the past week.

Mr Andrews said: “Foxes are pretty clever animals. If you remove their food source they will look elsewhere.

“However, if you have an infestation of rats then it’ll take three to ten days for rats to die once poison has been laid.”

Craig Davies, of Newhaven-based Sussex Pest Control Services, said: “It takes a while to sort out rat infestations, because breeding occurs rapidly.

“The problem will reoccur when the bins are taken away because the food source is gone so the rats will look elsewhere for food.”

The dispute revolves around the council’s attempt to “modernise” its system of allowances and expenses.

About 90% of those affected in its 8,000-strong workforce will not be affected.

However, union representatives claim Cityclean staff will be left up to £4,000 a year worse off by the proposal.

Charles Harrity, a senior organiser at theGMB, said: “We do not embark on ballots for strike action lightly. However members now have no faith in council leader Jason Kitcat or his proposals.”

A statement issued on the council website yesterday said: “Our recycling, refuse and street-cleaning crews are back to work, but we are expecting some ongoing disruption to collections and street-cleaning services across the city.

“If your refuse and recycling has been missed, please put it out for collection on your next scheduled collection day.

“Crews are unlikely to collect waste that does not fit in your bin or boxes. This is part of the ongoing disruption.”

 

HIRING EXTRA STAFF ‘NOT EASY’

 

Council officials have claimed it is “not as easy as it sounds” to employ staff to catch up on  missed rounds.

A council spokeswoman said: “We employ over 100 staff who are out every day making recycling and refuse collections from 20,000 households. They use a fleet of more than 30 specialist HGV vehicles.

“Our staff know their rounds and are trained to drive and operate our recycling and refuse  vehicles.

“Because of this specialist knowledge and equipment we cannot simply hire in agency staff
and vehicles to catch up the missed work.”