BIRMINGHAM City Council failed to clear mountains of binbags despite a pledge to collect Christmas waste by the end of the weekend.

The man in charge of collections said there had been a “Herculean effort” to try and clear the huge backlog and claimed that “guerrilla tactics” from striking binmen had hampered the efforts of 70 casual crews who worked throughout the weekend.

But binmen and unions said the council never had “a chance in hell” of meeting its pledge and urged them stop using “bully boy” tactics in the bitter dispute over pay.

Councillor Timothy Huxtable, the city’s Tory Cabinet member in charge of refuse collection, said: “There has been a Herculean effort to collect the outstanding waste. On Saturday the casual crews collected 120,000 sacks of rubbish and we hope we have done the same again on Sunday.

“We are now in a position where we have collected the majority of domestic waste which was the result of ongoing industrial action, plus increased volumes and severe weather problems over the festive period.

“We expect Monday’s rubbish to be put out as usual for collection by our regular workforce.

“Any waste left will be collected as soon as possible by the casual workforce. Our regular staff are using guerrilla tactics and deliberately leaving rubbish in certain areas that they know will create the most inconvenience for the public.