It was the bitter strike that left more than one million rubbish bags strewn across the streets of Southampton.

The months of industrial action by binmen and street cleaners saw mountains of household waste build up all over the city.

Now the Daily Echo can reveal that the council boss caught in the heart of the dispute has been suspended.

And we can also report that the bill for the industrial action topped more than £1 million. Following an internal investigation the city council’s waste and transport boss has been suspended by council chiefs.

Andrew Trayer, one of the council’s most senior managers, has been removed from his post pending the outcome of the inquiry, council sources told the Echo.

Mr Trayer, the council’s £75,000-a-year-head of waste and fleet transport who has worked for the authority for more than a decade, last year found himself in the middle of a summer of strike action by bin men.

Mystery surrounds the reason for the disciplinary action against Mr Trayer which has prompted rumour and speculation among workers at the council’s new £14m City Depot.

His computer was seized from his office by council investigators.

Staff said yesterday they had been given no explanation by council bosses and unions have questioned who is now in charge in Mr Trayer’s absence.

His suspension comes as figures reveal the cost of the strikes, which also included street cleaners and other sections of the council, was £1.1 million.

The action came after ruling Tory councillors imposed pay cuts on staff to protect jobs from budget cuts.

The council was forced to bring in private contractors, TJ Waste and Recycling from Fareham, to help manage the mountains of rubbish piled up around the city and clear months of back-logs.

Council accounts reveal it paid the firm £771,000 between June and December.

However the net cost of the strikes to the council was £275,000 after deductions of wages for striking staff and other savings.

Latest figures also show recycling rates fell to 24.8 per cent between April and September last year, compared to 27.2 per cent in 2010, as a result of the industrial action.

The strikes saw up to one million uncollected bin bags pile up on the city’s streets as collections were massively disrupted over three months.

Many homes went several weeks without having their bins emptied, leading to fears of rat infestations and fire hazards, after arsonists repeatedly targeted the stinking piles of rubbish.

As well as bin men, traffic wardens, social workers, Itchen Bridge toll collectors and librarians were among the council employees to walk out in the bitter row over pay cuts, which Conservatives insisted were essential to safeguard jobs.

Council leader Royston Smith declined to comment on Mr Trayer’s suspension saying any internal investigations at the council were a “management issue”.

Richard Ivory, head of legal, HR and democratic services, said: “Southampton City Council is unable to comment on any disciplinary matters with members of staff – or to confirm if any disciplinary action is taking place – as any such issues are both internal and confidential matters.”

A Hampshire police spokesman confirmed the force is not involved in the council’s investigation.