Residents have spoke of their anger at living on a 'disgusting' street where a 7ft mountain of rubbish dumped in an overflowing skip has led to an invasion of rats.

Homeowners on Sladefield Road, in Ward End, Birmingham, say their lives are made 'hell' by the festering piles of trash left along their residential street.

They say the problem has become so bad, the entire road now stinks and groups of rats are plaguing the area and can regularly be seen scurrying along the pavements.

Parents are refusing to let their children play outdoors due to the health hazard which has also left people too embarrassed to invite people around.

Locals say piles of rubbish are dumped all along the road but the worst problems have been caused by a skip abandoned just yards from a primary school.

Since being left on the street a month ago, it has become a magnet for fly-tipped waste before it was eventually removed by the council on Wednesday (15/2).

Shocking photos show how the stomach-churning pile grew to around 7ft (2.1m) tall and included household and building waste as well as a pair of ladders.

Ironically, the skip was placed on double yellow lines next to a wrongly-spelled 'No Dumping' sign declaring: "No Rubbish Damp Here".

Residents say their 'lawless' street is also plagued by antisocial behaviour and is facing its worst problems in 40 years due to lack of policing.

Shop owner Abrar Khan said he had tried to find the company responsible for dumping the skip outside his store after it began affecting his trade.

Shah Nawaz, 56, a business owner on Washwood Heath road, said the rubbish started when people ignored or didn’t understand the bin collection days.

Another local resident added: "It's hell living around here. People don't invite their families around because it's not safe and it stinks now. It's disgusting, like a slum."

Councillor Majid Mahmood, Birmingham City Council cabinet member for environment, said: “Following complaints from local people we took action to remove the skip on Sladefield Road today.

“Clean streets are a top priority in this city – so we are taking a zero tolerance approach when skips are plonked on our streets without the right permissions or any signage that enables us to contact the owner.

“In this case, the skip had hazardous items and was attracting rodents.

"We carried out extensive enquires with residents and businesses – but nobody knew who had put it there.

"This should act as a clear warning to anyone thinking of doing the same.

"We will take action and if we do find out who you are, we will seek to recover costs or take any appropriate legal action.”