A mother from Birmingham has warned the city’s waste crisis is spiralling “out of control” with rats roaming the streets and overflowing rubbish forcing her to walk in the road with her two-year-old child.

Nicola Walker, a healthcare assistant and local resident, told GB News that the situation has become an “environmental hazard” as strike action by refuse workers drags on with no resolution in sight.

Walker, who lives near City Hospital, said she’s no longer able to use the pavements safely due to the growing pile-ups.

She told GB News: "I have a two-year-old when I put her in her stroller to put her in the road because there is no way to use the pavement.

Birmingham Council has declared a major incident in response to the bin strikes PA

He added: "At the moment we are just living with the rats, that's what it's like.

"The bins are stinking at the moment, because now the sun is out, there's the smell that's coming from the bins that's just horrendous.

"They are overflowing and the rats are just ripping through the bags and on the pavement. There are wild animals going through it's not safe right now for anybody."

“You don’t know where the rats are hiding or breeding,” she added.

“And with the heat, they’ll multiply even faster. If this goes on into the summer, we’ll have a real environmental health crisis on our hands — rats, cockroaches, maggots. One problem leads to another. It is out of control”

“Anywhere is better than living in Birmingham right now,” she said. “It’s a mess. A real, real mess.”

The Birmingham Health Care worker revealed that she has created a petition demanding action, after finding out that the issue could continue throughout the summer months.

"What they were saying is that this — Birmingham City Council and the union and everything — could go on right through the summer.

"Now, if that goes on to the summer, we’re going to have a real environmental health [problem] on our hands."

Nicola Walker said that residents fear the crisis could continue through the summer months

More than 21,000 tonnes of litter and rubbish have now piled up across Birmingham as strike action enters its fifth week.

Talks between Birmingham City Council and the Unite union are still ongoing, with no resolution yet reached.

GB News has reached out to Birmingham City Council for comment.