PEST control and health experts have warned that rats, foxes, cockroaches and flies could infest Southampton’s streets when bin strikes start next week.

They say rotting rubbish bags will attract vermin and insects which could spread potentially deadly diseases across the city.

Bin collectors, street cleaners and pest controllers are among up to 2,600 council staff staging industrial action – starting on Monday for an indefinite period.

It threatens to leave refuse uncollected lying in the streets in scenes last witnessed in the late 1970s.

Hampshire based pest controller, Sean Whelan, said: “This could be a potential disaster. Many people will already be aware of the large number of rodents in the Southampton area so this extra food source will be an extra bonus to them.

“Rats are known vectors of a number of diseases, including Weil’s disease, so their presence is always a health risk.

“Unlike mice, rats do not mindtravellingconsiderable distances for a meal and, if they find a good source, they will carry the food back to their safe area, which could be in a loft, under a floor or in an outbuilding.”

Huddersfield University expert, Dr Dougie Clarke, who is analysing Hampshire’s rat population, said: “Giving them more food might increase their population.

We may also see fatter rats.”

His studies in Winchester and Eastleigh have found large numbers of “super rats” whose DNA has mutated so traditional poisons no longer work. He believes the situation is similar in Southampton, although he is yet to carry out research here.

Council leader, Royston Smith, said “robust contingency plans” are in place to cope with the strikes and it was up to unions to put forward an alternative before the council would consider any further mediation talks at ACAS.

He insisted: “I’m not going for another one-sided conservation.

It’s just pointless.”

He said there were no plans to bring in dustcarts from outside the council, and that the rubbish should be collected by bin men the following week on normal rounds – although unions say backlogs are likely because their members will be working to rule and doing no overtime.

Residents are being asked to make sure they flatten their waste to make sure they are making the most of wheelie bin space.