Union barons have rejected a deal to end the Birmingham bin strikes – as the Army was called in to clear rubbish.

Hundreds of workers have walked out in a row over pay and jobs, leading to rubbish piling up on the streets.

And Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has revealed Army planners have been deployed to help tackle the rubbish piling up on Birmingham’s streets.

Thousands of tonnes of rubbish has not been collected, leading to Health Secretary Wes Streeting warning of a public health emergency.

A West Midlands MP said rats in Birmingham labelled Squeaky Blinders "must be dancing in the streets", after refuse workers rejected a deal aimed at ending a long-running strike.

Conservative MP Wendy Morton, whose Aldridge-Brownhills constituency lies in the Walsall borough, told the PA news agency: "This really shows yet again Labour-led Birmingham Council and this Labour Government are failing residents and our region.

"They need to get a grip, stop blaming others, and face the unions - their paymasters.

"The Squeaky Blinders must be dancing in the streets."

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch condemned the crisis, declaring: “The Army has been called in to help clear the bins.

“This is Labour’s Birmingham – filthy and failing.

“High taxes. Collapsing services. Waste rotting. Rats running the show.”

Unite has been campaigning against plans to cut the post of waste recycling and collection officer (WRCO) from the city's refuse and recycling service.

The union claims it will lead to around 150 of its members having their pay cut by up to £8,000 a year.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “For weeks, these workers have faced attacks from government and their employer pushing the lie that only a handful of workers are affected by the council’s plans to cut pay by up to £8,000.

“Instead of peddling untruths about these low paid workers and focusing on winning a media war, the government should have taken the time to check facts and used its office to bring the council to the table in a meaningful way.

“The rejection of the offer is no surprise as these workers simply cannot afford to take pay cuts of this magnitude to pay the price for bad decision after bad decision.

“From the start, the council has constantly moved the goalposts for these workers, prolonging the strikes in the process. First it was equal pay, then it was about improving the waste service, then cost cutting. The list goes on.

“Unite has set out simple and reasonable steps to the council to resolve these issues. It is important to remember that this dispute is not about a pay rise it is about preventing serious pay cuts.

“The government must now call a meeting with the stakeholders to ensure these steps are taken to bring the strike to an end.”

“The government must now also urgently consider Unite’s proposal for debt restructure at Birmingham City Council and other local authorities. Workers and communities cannot continue to pay the price.”

Onay Kasab, national lead officer at Unite, said refuse workers in Birmingham rejected a deal aimed at ending a long-running strikes because it "failed to deal with all of the issues".

Speaking to reporters, Mr Kasab said: "Our members have overwhelmingly rejected the council's proposals by 97% because they can see through what this so-called proposal meant.

"It simply failed to deal with all of the issues."

He added: "This is not simply about 70 workers. This is about far more workers than that. We have hundreds of drivers that are impacted by this as well.

"It really is now time for negative briefings to stop, for the facts to be put out there.

“This is about far more than just 70 people, this is about huge pay cuts for hundreds of people.

"It's time now for us all to sit down. No more negative briefings and let's reach a negotiated resolution and solution."

Speaking from Scunthorpe, the Deputy Prime Minister said: "There's no boots on the ground, let me be very clear, we've deployed a couple of army logistics to help with the logistical operation of clearing up the rubbish.

"We've got over two-thirds of the rubbish cleared off the streets now, this week we'll start to see cleaning up the pavements and streets as well as the clearance of all of that rubbish, I'm very pleased about that.

“The kids are off school, obviously it's Easter holidays, we want that rubbish cleared."

Asked if taxpayers would have to foot the bill, Ms Rayner said "this all stems from equal pay liabilities", adding: "We'll continue to work with the council to bring down the costs and the liabilities they had with equal pay, which is part of this process, and make sure that the workers are treated fairly as part of that process."