SNP ministers have been urged to step in and resolve a refuse strike in Edinburgh during the height of the summer festival season.

Nicola Sturgeon has said she hopes a new pay offer to local government workers will end the “disruption”

The Conservatives have called on the Scottish Government to prevent the capital being an “international embarrassment” after pictures of overflowing bins and rubbish left in streets amid Edinburgh welcoming thousands of festival visitors.

This is the fourth day of Edinburgh's 12-day waste collection strike. The strike will end on August 30, shortly after the end of the festivals currently taking place throughout Edinburgh.

Reports have also emerged of Fringe performers and residents trying to stop the mess from getting out of control.

Tory Lothians MSP Miles Briggs also criticised the Labour-run council for failing to plan ahead, saying the "lack of contingency planning has been astounding."

He said: "The Labour council in Edinburgh has completely failed to plan ahead.

“The lack of contingency planning has been astounding. More could have been done to prepare the city, such as working with private companies or providing additional bins.

"The SNP Government must now intervene to prevent international embarrassment for Edinburgh and Scotland.”

Mr Briggs added: "The rubbish piling up on our streets risks damaging our city's reputation.

"These annual festivals are supposed to be a source of pride, not humiliation.

"The SNP Government must get around the table and fix this before it's too late.

"They cannot stand by and watch while a situation that they created by giving councils a poor funding settlement spirals out of control."

Ms Sturgeon insisted that "nobody wants to see the kind of disruption and impact of strikes that many people are witnessing in Edinburgh right now”.

But she said she hoped the improved pay deal, which would see wages increase by five per cent, would resolve the dispute.

The local government body Cosla made the latest offer on Friday, and while unions have said they will consider the deal they warned it is still significantly below the current rate of inflation.

Alison Maclean of Unite noted: “While the 5% offer is an improvement, it is important to emphasise that it comes at a time when the broader retail price index has now hit a 40-year high at 12.3%.

“Unite’s local government committee will urgently consider this latest offer. At this juncture the strikes for next week continue as planned.”

Ms Sturgeon, speaking during a visit to Aberdeen, said: “We live in a really challenging time with inflation in double figures right now, which is why the Scottish Government is determined to deliver – as far as we can and to facilitate as far as we can – fair pay deals.

“We’ve provided – and the councils are the employers of the workers that you’re referring to right now – we’ve provided more resources to local authorities to try to facilitate a fairer pay deal and I’m glad to see that Cosla has now put on the table a 5% pay offer and I hope that now paves the way to these issues being resolved.”

Scottish LibDem leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton, has called for the Scottish Government’s emergency budget review to deliver more support.

He said: “The effects of the strike are depressingly visible. We are seeing mountains of filth piling up.

"The blame for these strikes lies entirely in the hands of a SNP/Green Government which has cut £1 billion from local government budgets in recent years and hardly lifted a finger to tackle the cost of living crisis.

“We all know that August is perhaps the most important month in Edinburgh's calendar. This situation risks jeopardising the capital's reputation among festival visitors from across the UK and the world.

"Refuse workers are being hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis. They need emergency changes to the budget which will properly fund local government and support those in need.

“The Scottish Government must fund local authorities so that they can afford to give workers a proper pay rise and put an end to this sorry mess.”

Edinburgh City Council leader, Cammy Day, said: "I firmly believe that all council colleagues deserve to be paid fairly for the work they do and have every right to take this action and have their voices heard.

"As the lowest funded council in Scotland, it’s time for the Scottish Government to properly fund our capital city and its services."

He added: "I fully appreciate the impact this action will have on our city and we’re asking residents to be patient and work with us to help manage the inevitable impacts by planning ahead and following our advice.

"We’ve published tips on what to do with their waste and recycling and how they can help us to keep the city as clean as possible during and after the strike.

"We’re also reaching out to our tenants and housing associations, businesses, festivals and other partners asking them to share our messaging and provide whatever support they can during this busy and important time for our capital city.

"We’re developing a detailed recovery plan so clean ups can begin and services can resume as quickly as possible after the strike."