DISGUSTED homeowners say they're being invaded by giant rats due to rubbish dumped on "Britain's dirtiest street" which can be seen from space.
Locals in Birmingham are demanding action to deal with "mountains" of waste left along a road they say hasn't been cleared for a decade.
And they have condemned council chiefs for neglecting them, only for officials to insist residents should do the clearing up themselves.
Piles of rubbish have been fly-tipped along an alleyway between two streets in the district of Handsworth, two and a half miles north-east of Birmingham city centre.
The 7ft-tall mounds stretching across the back of homes include freezers, fridges, mattresses, a moped, a sofa and human waste.
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And parents say the health risks have become so worrying, they no longer let their children play outdoors.
They also see huge rats getting into their homes and running amok.
Grandfather-of-six and local landlord Kulvinder Raindi, 63, labelled the setting "absolutely disgusting" as he called for the council to get tougher on fly-tippers.
He said: "We've asked many times for this to be cleared up but they say it is private land.
"The council does have a duty to help because it's a huge health and safety hazard - you can see it on Google Earth so you can see it from space.
"When my brother was alive there was a yard around the back which acted as a play area for children but its a massive health hazard now.
"It stretches all the way around and there's every type of rubbish you could think of there - it's very dangerous and a breeding ground for vermin."
Dad-of-one and tree surgeon Tobias Brown, 39, said: "It's so rank and it's got really embarrassing to live around here in all honesty.
"My mates take the mickey and say I live on the grimmest street in the country and I don't have much of a comeback as it's probably true.
"The mess around there is disgraceful and I can't believe we're living like this in a cosmopolitan city like Birmingham that had been trying to improve its image."
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Modupe Adejumo, a 59-year-old resident support worker also living nearby, said: "It's so bad - there's lots of rats around.
"The council or whoever are in charge should clear it and make it useful for residents.
"Our landlord has called on Birmingham Council to act - the street is just a mess, people just drop rubbish everywhere."
Yet the local authority insisted the area was private land rather than somewhere they should cover.
Environmental chief Councillor Majid Mahmood said: "Private alleyways are the responsibility of the owners and residents to keep tidy.
"Fly-tipping harms where we all have to live and work and is carried out by environmental criminals that have no regard for our neighbourhoods or their well-being.
"We have plenty of lawful options for people to responsibly dispose of waste or unwanted items.
"There are Household Recycling Centres around the city and for those who struggle to get to them we have our popular free-to-use Mobile Household Recycling Centres.
"We will always prosecute fly-tippers when we can but we need reports and evidence and the most effective way to do this is to contact our Waste Enforcement Team directly."
He also urged people to get in touch with their "Love Your Streets" teams to organise a community clean-up.
He added: "We will assist with clearing private alleyways provided there is some support from residents."
A council spokesperson reiterated that dealing with rubbish in private alleyways' was residents' own responsibility.
The Birmingham complaints come as a designer shopping outlet in Swindon in Wiltshire has been slammed by fashion fans for housing piles of rubbish bags.
Residents of Calmore in Hampshire have been forced to live next to a mystery mountain of rubbish at a nature reserve.
And locals in Reading in Berkshire complained that bin lorries won't collect their rubbish because their road is too narrow.
