Overflowing rubbish was being be left to fester today after Black Country council bosses refused to take any of the backlog caused by last week’s strike.

Local authority chiefs in Walsall have ordered workers not to pick up any bags that will not fit inside wheelie bins, following the nationwide two-day action.

Refuse collectors across the region were among thousands of staff including housing benefits workers, rent collectors, teaching assistants, cooks, architects and surveyors that took part in the strike last Wednesday and Thursday organised by public sector union Unison.

But while binmen in neighbouring boroughs including Sandwell and Dudley have been sent out to clear up the backlog, Walsall Council has opted for a hardline stance.

Mark Holden, Walsall Council’s Head of Street Pride, confirmed the policy.

“No domestic side waste will be collected and for safety reasons, lids must be closed,” he said.

But Joanne Billingham, aged 37, lives in Gower Street, Pleck, with her husband and three children and said her family’s waste for two weeks would not fit in a wheelie bin.

“When you pay as much council tax as we do it really is disgusting,” she said.

“We create a lot of household rubbish and this is the worst time to leave bags full of rubbish out on the streets with all the flies.

“We will have to make a trip to the tip if the binmen don’t pick up our extra black bags full of rubbish but some people are elderly and can’t get there.”

Another Gower Street resident, 46-year-old Peter Bolland said: “This street could soon look like a rubbish tip.”

Reg Evans, branch secretary of Walsall Unison, said the council had left him in no doubt as to their stance.

“They are obviously prepared to accept the results,” he said.

“From the refuse collectors’ point of view, they will go and do their job, which means emptying each wheelie bin.

“There is no point striking if there is no effect.”