Students clean up strike rubbish

Student volunteer Katie Piate explains why she is taking part

Students in Leeds have taken part in a clean-up to rid their streets of mounting rubbish left uncollected by the city's long-running bin strike.

Dozens of students in the Hyde Park and Headingley areas have been hit by the dispute which is its tenth week.

The event was organised by Leeds Student Radio, with teams of cleaners out in the afternoon.

Talks between the council and unions aimed at ending the row over equal pay have been postponed until next week.

Workers walked out on 7 September.

A new offer by the council was rejected last month after unions said some of the productivity targets which formed part of the deal were unachievable.

During talks on 2 November, the council's leaders agreed to review the targets.

The deal offered by the council would mean an annual pay cut of £231 for refuse collectors, instead of the £4,491 salary drop they originally faced.