Angry residents have slammed a council for failing to clear fly-tipped rubbish outside their homes which has grown into a stinking 30ft mountain of waste over the last four years.<br /><br />Homeowners living on Ford Street, near to Birmingham's historic Jewellery Quarter, have been left with festering piles of trash on their doorsteps since 2018. <br /><br />Parents are refusing to let their children play outdoors due to the rat-infested mounds which has also left people too embarrassed to invite friends and family around.<br /><br />Locals say shameless fly-tippers have been making their lives a living hell by repeatedly adding to the huge pile while the council has done nothing to remove it. <br /> <br />Shocking pictures show the disgusting heap - which includes household rubbish, several sofas, mattresses, bin liners, chairs and piles of wooden pallets. <br /><br />Residents of the street are now calling for CCTV to be installed in the area amid the growing problem as the city prepares to host the Commonwealth Games nearby.<br /><br />Dad-of-four Arjan Singh, 44, who lives on the road in Hockley, said: "People are going to be visiting our city this summer and are going to see eyesores like this. <br /><br />"What opinion do you think visitors are going to be left with when they see things like this? It is embarrassing. <br /><br />"It began four years ago and nothing was done to clear the streets and then during the pandemic it has just got worse and worse. <br /><br />"There are rats running about, its absolutely disgusting. Its like being in the Third World yet this is supposed to be a modern cosmopolitan city. <br /><br />"It has made our area unsafe and unclean - something needs to be done as the problem is getting out of hand and causing everybody a lot of stress."<br /><br />Another female homeowner, who did not want to be named, said: "The mess is just horrific and stinks.<br /><br />"I won't let my children play outside anymore because I've noticed rats running about and I think it's a terrible health hazard.<br /><br />"I'm also too embarrassed to ask my friends around to visit because I don't want them to see the conditions I am living next to. <br /><br />"But this has been going on for years now and still nothing has been done to clear it up. It makes me feel sick walking past it. <br /><br />"The council need to install CCTV as our own doorsteps have become a dumping ground for fly-tippers and nobody should be made to live like this." <br /><br />Anyone caught fly-tipping and illegally depositing waste could face a fine of up to £20,000 or even prison.<br /><br />A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: “Ultimately, the responsibility for this situation sits with the culprits. <br /><br />"Those who dump waste are environmental criminals, who are expecting others in our city to foot the bill for the disposal of their rubbish and unwanted items.<br /><br />“There is no excuse for this anti-social behaviour, which shows no regard for the surroundings in which we all have to live and work - there are many legitimate ways to get rid of waste.<br /><br />“We investigate incidents and do not hesitate to prosecute offenders, as demonstrated in the past by many high-profile court cases."
