Disgusting footage has emerged of Glasgow cleansing workers jumping to avoid rats leaping from bins during collections in the city.

The video taken on Kelvinhaugh Street, in the west end last week, shows binmen collecting blue recycling bins from a garden outside a block of flats. A refuse worker can be seen kicking the bin at a distance, as one rat leaps out and scurries away.

As he continues to kick the bin, more rats jump out from the sides of the bin and run away through the grass. The Glasgow City Council worker lifts the lid of the bin and jumps back as another rat leaps out towards him.

A second clip taken on Duke Wynd, near High Street, shows workers kicking large general waste bins to disperse at least a dozen before they can be collected.

As each bin opens, more rats jump out. The cleansing workers can be heard shrieking as a large rat sprints towards them.

Chris Mitchell, who worked in cleansing for 20 years, branded the situation ‘out of control’ and said the vermin population has grown more in the last two years than throughout his career.

The 46-year-old, who became convener for the GMB Trade Union 10 years ago, told the Record: “It’s unacceptable. I’ve been in this game for 30 years and I have never seen the population grow as much as I have in the last two years. In the midst of this there has still been talk of making cuts in environmental health, public health and cleansing.

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