The situation in Birmingham during the bin strike “cannot continue”, the city council’s leader has said as he urged the Unite union to help bring the industrial action to an end ahead of a fresh round of talks on Wednesday.

With around half of all councils in danger of falling into bankruptcy, bin strikes may spread across the country

Birmingham City Council has declared a major incident as an estimated 17,000 tonnes of waste remain uncollected in the city after bin workers walked out on strike. With reports of giant rats and a worsening stench,