Southampton’S bin men may be back at work after their five-day strike, but black bags are still piling up all over the city.

Angry residents have complained that, although their wheelie bins were emptied, waste sacks that had piled up during last week’s walk-out were still littering their streets.

Union bosses say their members will continue to refuse to take “side waste” – anything left outside the wheelie bin – for the rest of the week as part of their industrial action.

Today the Daily Echo can reveal the mess is going to get a lot worse because refuse collectors are planning another seven-day strike starting on Wednesday.

The city council says there are strict rules on strike breaking and it can only legally bring in other council workers or contractors to clear the waste if it becomes a health and safety risk.

People living in flats in Dyer Road, off Shirley Road, had to fight their way through a 6ft high pile of rubbish outside their front door.

Extra bin bags that had been left by communal bins at the block weren’t taken away by refuse collectors and were instead left in a huge mound right outside the door.

Mum-of-three Michelle Reeve, 25, who lives in one of the flats, said: “It absolutely stinks. It’s disgusting and I can smell it in my home.

“I’ve got an eight-month-old baby – my kids shouldn’t have to be breathing this stuff in.

“The bin men left it in more of a mess than to start with.

At least before it was all in the bin area.”

A sea of black sacks left by the refuse collectors was also beginning to take over outside flats in Lydgate Road, Thornhill.

Resident Trevor Webb, 25, says he’s already seen rats running in and out of the waste.

He said: “The bin men came out and emptied all the black bins, but just kicked the black bags that weren’t in the bins out of the way.

“Kids are playing outside in the middle of all this. It’s a health hazard, there’s already rats crawling around.

It’s disgusting.”

Though many residents reacted with anger to the rising tide of rubbish outside their homes, others felt it was a point worth making.

Stan Boston, 75, from Romsey Road, says that although dozens of bags of waste have been left in his street, he’s still behind the strike.

He added: “The dustbin men have to work all hours in all weathers and they do a tremendous job.

“I guess I am happy for the bags to be outside my house if it means the dustbin men can make their point.

“If they can get something out of it then I’d say I am happy for them to continue.”

More than 100 refuse collectors walked out for five days last week, protesting against Southampton City Council’s plans to cut their salaries by between two and 5.5 per cent.

Union bosses say workers have been sent a 90-day dismissal notice and are being forced to agree to lower pay and conditions by the middle of July.

Mark Wood, Unite Union’s convenor in the council, says when the council agrees to talks and suspends their proposals, they will call off the strike.

He added: “At the end of the day we don’t want to take action at all, we’d rather reach an agreement with the council.

“But if we do take action, we’re going to do it in a way that obviously has an affect.

We want the public to encourage their council to get back round the table with us.

“We’re saying to the council that both sides need to suspend and halt what they’re doing – we would suspend the industrial action if they stop the clock ticking on the dismissal notices.”

Council leader Royston Smith was yesterday snubbed by bin men as he made an early morning visit to Town Depot to try to explain the council’s savings plans face to face.

He said: “I thought it was only fair to hear first hand what they think. They are decent hard working fellows who I’m trying to keep in a job and I wanted to tell them that.

Unfortunately the unions advised them not to speak to me.”

He said the city council was trying to arrange a meeting with the unions and mediator ACAS as soon as possible.

Cllr Smith added: “We are looking for the earliest possible date for meetings but there are diary clashes that need to be sorted out – there’s no point only half the people that need to be there actually being there.

“We’ll try to move forward, try to accommodate them and try to be reasonable.

“We don’t want disruption to these services that we offer.

I’m hoping that we’re going to have a sensible conversation about it.

“At the moment what we’re trying to do is make sure there aren’t any health and safety issues with the rubbish.

“Where there is an issue the unions have either assisted or will allowus to use other ways of clearing it.”