To most people the image of the rag and bone trade is still that of Steptoe and Son with their horse, cart, and cluttered yard.

But one Brummie has become a national success bringing junk collection into the 21st century, with fleets of lorries and helpful collectors.

And now Birmingham is the latest city in the sights of former banking high-flyer Jason Mohr and his Any Junk collection business.

Jason, who was born in Birmingham and works with his younger brother Luke, is bringing the hugely successful firm back to his home city - and says it will help make it more green.

The business collects unused junk - anything from old sofas and broken televisions to builders' rubble and office furniture - and then takes it away to be re-used, recycled, or thrown away.

Jason said the firm has been a roaring success in the years since it had been founded because it was the first time junk collection had been marketed in a modern way.

He said: "The idea of packaging it so that it's approachable and understandable by people like you and me is fairly novel, and I think people these days look for speed and good branding in everything they do.

"The old view of a dodgy geezer turning up in a dodgy van to take away your junk isn't a very appealing one, so I think when people hear about us they say to themselves 'this is something different'."

About half of Any Junk's customers - who pay from £25 to get things taken away - are domestic, with the other half made up of retailers, restaurant groups, estate agents, housing associations and hospitals.

Staff in the company's distinctive red trucks with elephant logos take away junk and even sweep up before they leave.

At the moment, about 40 per cent of the junk the company collects is reused or recycled, with the rest sent to landfill sites.

The company will be hoping to make that figure 30 per cent in Birmingham in the first year, and improving in the future.

It was launched in London, and has a further branch in Bristol. But with business booming, and turnover topping £1 million, Jason and Luke decided the time was right to go to Birmingham.

The brothers picked the city for the next phase of their expansion because of their close family links to the city. Their great-grandfather Ralph Bayliss was managing director of HP Sauce in Aston, and their grandfather John Fulford was head surgeon at Birmingham General Hospital.

Jason said: "It's the second largest city, a nd so you'd always want to be there, I also think that along with London and Bristol, this gives us a triangle of coverage that goes over the country nicely."

Last year a Canadian firm, Got Junk, set up a collection service in Birmingham but recently shut down after struggling with the UK market.

But Jason said he expected his firm to have no such problems, especially given his own close links to Birmingham.

"They just didn't get their prices or their service levels sorted out and I think the prospect of us opening was the last straw," he said.

"With Birmingham one of the UK's most important and expanding cities and with the family's history and connections well established, it made a lot of sense to launch here.

"Unlike the North Americans, our whole operation is geared to serving UK customers and we plan to be here for keeps."