pest

There was already talk of the infestation of rats, and a pest controller I met in Handsworth told me his workload had already doubled as result of the waste piling up in the streets.

Cotton said the authority was "absolutely focused" on ensuring clearance of the accumulation of waste, and it would be "addressing any incidents" that had arisen around pest infestation.

“There were constant attacks by disease and pests. And there wasn’t enough forage to sustain pregnancies.”

Mr Timms said even if all the rubbish was collected, the pest issue would still linger, with the rodents likely to start nesting in residents' homes or cars.

The chain, which has nearly 2,000 restaurants, said most of its sites would be shut between 31 March and 4 April "to prevent external intrusion and internal infestation of pests and vermin".