Shopkeeper finds dead RAT among the rubbish as clear-up continues on London’s Brick Lane amid piles of refuse after eight-day bin strike
- Bin strikes on Brick Lane in Tower Hamlets, London have now come to an end
- READ MORE: Furious Brick Lane businesses piles of refuse keeping visitors away
A shopkeeper has revealed he found a dead rat among the rubbish which piled up in London’s famous Brick Lane amid an eight-day bin strike.
Syed Sumon was left sickened after finding the deceased animal by his premises the same day refuse workers finally ended their walkout amid a dispute over pay with the local council.
The popular tourist hotspot had seen mountains of detritus gather on the streets which attracted vermin such as rats and foxes during the industrial action, with the stench of waste set to remain for weeks outside businesses despite bin collections resuming.
The bin worker strike came to an end last night after Tower Hamlets Council said it had reached an agreement with unions, and workers have started collecting rubbish again.
Earlier this week, East London native Lord Alan Sugar was left appalled after being confronted with a ‘stock pile of garbage’ in Bethnal Green Road, while there were also mounds of detritus left behind by market stall holders in Whitechapel Road.
Local Brick Lane shopkeeper Syed Sumon holds a dead rat which he says he found by his premises amid the bin strikes
Mountains of waste have piled up near the famous tourist hotspot amid an eight-day strike from refuse collectors
The stench of rubbish has permeated the normally busy roads while binmen rowed with the council over pay
The bin collections resumed today after Tower Hamlets Council reached a deal with unions, but the stench will remain for weeks
Brick Lane in East London will still be strewn with the stench of rubbish for weeks despite the end of bins strikes that saw rats and foxes ripping open refuse bags on the popular tourist hotspot
The bin worker strike came to an end last night after Tower Hamlets Council said it had reached an agreement with unions
Earlier this week, East London native Lord Alan Sugar was left appalled after being confronted with a ‘stock pile of garbage’ in Bethnal Green Road, while there were also mounds of detritus left behind by market stall holders in Whitechapel Road
Strike action comes to an end and the bin men and rubbish collection teams head out around brick lane to start picking up the rubbish bags once again
People living in the borough of Tower Hamlets claimed the piles of rotting rubbish were six feet high yesterday and last night it was clear that rats and foxes had ripped bin bags and left litter across the streets
Brick Lane, which is famous for its Indian restaurants and bagel shops, is now home to piles of litter
Uncollected black bin bags, cardboard boxes and plastic crates are littering the famous East London road
People living in the borough of Tower Hamlets claimed the piles of rotting rubbish were six feet high yesterday and last night it was clear that rats and foxes had ripped bin bags and left litter across the streets – from drinks bottles to crisp packets.
Brick Lane, which is famous for its Indian restaurants and bagel shops, became home to litter – including uncollected black bin bags, cardboard boxes and plastic crates being piled high and attracting rodents.
The smell from the mounds of rubbish across the streets was ‘putrid’ and sickly’, locals said.
Baker Nathan Cohen, whose family run the famous Beigel Bake on Brick Lane, told MailOnline yesterday: ‘It’s horrific. This area has become a tourist attraction and all this rubbish is a very bad reflection on Great Britain.
‘All this rubbish is spreading disease and attracting vermin. It is not a good illustration of our country.’
READ MORE: How pests are ‘becoming less susceptible to rodenticide and more wary of control methods’ as Britain is plagued by vermin
The Beigel shop has had to take matters into their own hands by taking waste to the tip themselves.
Waitress Katy Scallon, 24, said: ‘The rubbish is disgusting. I’ve seen loads of rats down Brick Lane. It’s absolutely gross.
‘This mess is all over east London. It’s really disappointing.’
Three-bag high towers of rubbish were left outside the Afrikana restaurant on Mile End, with empty cooking oil barrels, cans of fizzy drink and cardboard boxes.
Manager Ryan Mitchell told the Telegraph he saw rats run from the rubbish yesterday morning as he went to open the restaurant. He feared damage to its reputation could be ‘fatal’ as it had only been open for a month.
Upholsterer Maisey Clarke, 25, added: ‘It’s revolting. It feels like there is rubbish everywhere.’
The binmen, members of the Unite Union, walked out last Monday, September 18, in a dispute over pay and conditions, rejecting the government pay offer of a flat increase of £1,925. The offer is below the rate of inflation, the union said.
The strike was originally scheduled to last two weeks but the industrial action was extended until October 15, following a breakdown in negotiations.
Tower Hamlets this morning put a fresh offer to Unite which will ballot the striking workers on whether to accept.
Beigel Bake baker Nathan Cohen told MailOnline that the rubbish piling up is ‘horrific’ and a ‘terrible reflection’ on the country
Upholsterer Maisey Clarke said: ‘It’s revolting. It feels like there is rubbish everywhere’
Waitress Katy Scallon (pictured) said she’d seen loads of rats running down the lane
The binmen, members of the Unite Union, walked out last Monday, September 18
The strike was originally scheduled to last two weeks but the industrial action was extended until October 15
Piles of rubbish build up around the base of a tree – as locals complained the stench is becoming unbearable
Madeleine, 62, from Stockholm, Sweden, told MailOnline: ‘I will remember all of the good things I have seen in London but I won’t be able to forget about the rubbish’
Meanwhile private waste contractors have been called in to deal with the worst affected areas.
However, mountains of rubbish remain piled up on streets corners in Shoreditch, the heart of fashionable east London.
The rotting food waste is attracting rats and other vermin. And a growing putrefying stench is enveloping the area.
Meanwhile business owners are having to fork out £400 a week to have their rubbish collected.
Today tourists told of their shock at the state of the UK’s capital city.
Fairus Mujub, 30, from Singapore said: ‘I really did not expect London to be like this. Singapore is very clean.
‘Frankly I am shocked by how dirty London has become.’
Graphic designer An, 32, from Los Angeles, USA added: ‘It’s really not very nice.
‘I didn’t expect to see piles of rubbish when I came to London. It’s like New York City.’
The scenes of rubbish-strewn streets have been likened to the ‘Winter of Discontent’ in the 1970s, when strikes by millions of workers, including refuse collectors, grave diggers, train drivers and nurses, led to a breakdown of public services.
The growing mounds of rubbish have also caused the rat population to explode, residents claim
London’s overflowing piles of rubbish will remain a lasting memory for tourists, visitors have claimed
The scenes this week were reminiscent of London in February 1979. Pictured: A local walks past a pile of rubbish on Leyden Street, as waste collectors were on strike to ask for a pay rise in London in February 1979
The dispute helped to bring down the Labour government under James Callaghan.
Ex-pat Austrian finance consultant Melis Pistracher said the state of London’s streets presented a very bad reflection of Britain.
Ms Pistracher, 42, said: ‘The rubbish is absolutely disgusting.
‘I am originally from Vienna, Austria, and I have got used to London being a bit grubby.
‘But friends and relatives who come to visit are shocked by the state of the city. It’s a terrible reflection on London and the UK as a whole.’
The growing mounds of rubbish have also caused the rat population to explode, residents claim.
Postman John Cole, 59, said: ‘Brick Lane has always been known for rats but with this rubbish dumped all over the place it has got worse. I see rats every day and more of them.’
Australian clothes shop worker Oskar, 22, said: ‘After the rubbish has been dumped the rats come along.’
Brick Lane resident Lewis McNicholl, 28, said: ‘I live in London E1 so I expect a certain amount of mess. But this is disgusting. I just want it sorted.’
London’s overflowing piles of rubbish will remain a lasting memory for tourists, a visitor claimed.
Madeleine, 62, from Stockholm, Sweden, told MailOnline: ‘I will remember all of the good things I have seen in London but I won’t be able to forget about the rubbish.’
Private waste company Bywater has been hired by Tower Hamlets Council to pick up the mountain of rubbish.
High rise buildings, markets, commercial areas and main roads will be targeted in the clean-up operation, the council said.
Lutfur Rahman, executive mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: ‘We value our frontline staff and know how hard they work. This strike is a national pay dispute and not limited to local issues. It is in fact a response to the very real cost-of-living crisis felt by families up and down the country.
‘Naturally we are disappointed by the strike as keeping Tower Hamlets’ streets clean and litter free is our priority.
‘We apologise to our residents and businesses and want to assure them we are doing our best to maintain services throughout.’
High rise buildings, markets, commercial areas and main roads will be targeted in the clean-up operation, the council has said
The street is lined with bins that are now overflowing with rubbish and incapable of coping with the demand
Brick Lane being cleaned up this morning as bin strikes finally come to an end
A cyclist travels down a freshly cleaned street in Tower Hamlets as strikes end for bin workers
The road outside this Pret A Manger was clean this morning as bin workers ended strikes
Mr Rahman added on Tuesday that he wanted to ‘thank residents for their patience and apologise for the inconvenience this has caused’.
‘We value our refuse staff and we have listened to their concerns to see how we can work constructively and collaboratively to resolve this dispute,’ he added.
‘Together, we will clear backlogged refuse and clean our streets as quickly as possible.’
Announcing the strikes earlier this month, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘Our members provide critical frontline council services.
‘Despite the essential roles our members undertake their employer thinks it is acceptable to propose what amounts to yet another real terms pay cut, at a time when they increasingly can’t make ends meet.
‘Unite never takes a backward step in supporting its members and is dedicated to enhancing their jobs, pay and conditions.
‘Unite will be providing members at Tower Hamlets with its complete support.’
Tower Hamlets is currently run by Aspire, a local political party formed by the current mayor Luftur Rahman under the name Tower Hamlets First.
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