Rubbish that went uncollected in a Black Country town because of a council strike will be picked up, council chiefs have promised today.

Furious householders complained after it was revealed on Wednesday binmen were ordered not to collect extra bags left over from last week’s two-day strike and warned they would not be paid overtime. But the council says only two per cent of homes in Walsall experienced disruption to their bin collections and contingency plans were working well.

Councillor Rachel Walker, Walsall Council cabinet member for environment, added that extra waste will be collected despite a rule that rubbish must fit into wheelie bins in order for it to be collected.

“A drive around the streets of Walsall will show that we are tackling the problem and contingency plans are working,” she said.

“Extra collections have been made on household bins and isolated bin bags left on the street.

“Problems with isolated bin bags is no longer a major issue and we estimate around two per cent of homes have or are experiencing a later bin collection this week,” she added.

“While we would not wish to downplay the effect on those families affected, it’s clear the vast majority of Walsall people have not experienced problems.

“It’s important for us to stress that we simply won’t pay overtime to reward strike action on what was a national dispute. I think the people of Walsall understand and support that.”

Councillor Walker praised the hard work of staff in collecting waste and said that bags of rubbish not collected by crews on July 23 and 24 were being picked up by extra teams of binmen.

She said litter “hit squads” have been working hard to deal with the backlog of uncollected bags.

Around 800 homes that did not have their bins collected by the end of Wednesday were scheduled to have collections yesterday. Councillor Walker added that collection efforts had been hampered by a mechanical failure to a bin lorry.

For details on waste collection call 01922 653344.