RESIDENTS and a councillor have slammed a pizza shop for showing “zero respect” by failing to clean up litter.

St John's residents and the city councillor for the area, Richard Udall, have criticised Papa John’s Pizza in The Bull Ring.

Cllr Udall said: “The bins are frequently overloaded, spilling rubbish all over the public highway, they are dirty, smelly and a total eyesore.

“They have been told on countless occasions to clean up their act, to remove the bins and to prevent them from overflowing, they have just abused local goodwill and have no regard for their neighbours and the wider St John’s community who have to walk past them on a daily basis.

“I share the anger and frustration of local residents. It is a total mess. They are taking advantage and it needs to stop.

"I will be calling for Papa John's to find an alternative way to dispose of their waste and rubbish, to do so safely, cleanly and without causing distress and anger.”

A resident also slammed the national chain for allowing delivery drivers to use the archway through Cripplegate House as a cut through.

A man who wished to remain anonymous said: “I was sat on the wall just by the three big rocks where pedestrians walk through on the frontage of Cripplegate House, when all of a sudden one of Papa John’s delivery drivers came riding through on a moped without a care for anyone, forcing a couple with two young children to step onto the grass.

"Another young man with his son went and told him off.”

Cllr Udall added: “This is not the first time I have received this complaint. Papa John’s are really acting with total disrespect for their neighbours. They are riding delivery mopeds in a sensitive area, on the footpaths outside the largest sheltered housing complex in the West Midlands, putting themselves and others at risk. They are doing this to avoid the traffic congestion in St John’s.”

A Papa John’s spokesman said: "We are grateful to Cllr Udall for drawing our attention to this situation. We have been experiencing very high demand for our pizzas and we have stepped up our efforts to ensure that we have the right processes and resources for waste management. We are looking into the situation in Cllr Udall’s ward and will work with him to address any issues."