On a Saturday afternoon, in the searing heat, Lakshmi Selvam, 56, pushed a hand stitcher through a slipper and deftly pulled out the thread. A few quick stitches, and the strap was sewed to the ...

And one road on a council boundary line is a stark illustration of the crisis - with black sacks piled high on one pavement, but the other side completely clean and empty. Workers have been ...