As Britain teeters on the brink of bin bag

 chaos breaking out across the country, here are the 12 cities which could be worst hit by strike action spreading. Onay Kasab, national lead officer at the union Unite, said there is the “potential” for strike action in other parts of the country if local authorities cut the pay of public service workers.

For more than four months Britain’s second-biggest city Birmingham has been drowning under piles of rotting uncollected waste thanks to an ongoing dispute between the local authority and refuse workers, represented by the Unite union. And speaking to BBC Radio Four’s Today programme this morning (Tuesday) Mr Kasab, national lead officer at Unite, said there is the “potential” for strike action in other parts of the country if local authorities cut the pay of public service workers.

Scroll down for the interactive map to see how vulnerable your area may be…

The chart shows major cities like London, Bristol, Manchester, Cardiff and Liverpool all have neighbourhoods packed with people. But other areas perhaps people would not immediately think of also show as at risk on the map.

Blackpool, Luton, Derby, Nottingham, Southampton also have densely populated areas, as well as Southend-on-Sea and Portsmouth.

If bin strikes were to break out from Birmingham the areas with the highest concentrations of households would likely suffer the most from a build up of trash on the streets.

Unite representative Mr Kasab told the BBC it would depend if disputes flared between refuse workers and councils, like they have done in Birmingham.

He said: “Well, if other local authorities look to cut the pay of essential public service workers, then there is the potential for strike action spreading. That’s why different political choices need to be made.”

Mr Kasab added: “It’s not about doing things more efficiently, I don’t think cutting the pay of public service workers is doing things more efficiently.

“If the pay of public service workers is attacked in other local authorities, then we shouldn’t be surprised when people take action.”

Business and trade minister Sarah Jones has called on the Unite union to end bin collection strikes in Birmingham.

She told BBC Breakfast: “Fundamentally what needs to happen now is the strike needs to be called off. Unite need to accept the offer that’s on the table. It’s a good offer and that is what we are asking them to do, and that is the way we’re going to get back to normal in Birmingham.

“Now I know that other councils are sort of coming in to support, that there is logistical support from the Army and that some private sector support is already there, but of course, it’s completely unacceptable, the images are awful and people have enough to worry about in their lives without having to worry about rubbish collection alongside it.

“So our message loud and clear is Unite need to call off the strike, accept the deal, and let’s get back to normal, which is what people expect and what people deserve.”

Asked if she thought bin collection strikes could spread to other locations, Ms Jones said: “Of course we don’t want to see strikes, and one of the first things we did when we got into Government back in July was to negotiate deals with trade unions where years of under-investment, years of underpay, had led to all kinds of problems and strikes that were costing everybody in the NHS, costing huge amounts of money. So nobody wants to see strikes, they’re always a last resort.”