Snitch on the seagull feeders and we’ll swoop, says council

A SEASIDE council has been accused of asking residents to spy and snitch on neighbours who feed seagulls.

The Lancashire resorts of Fleetwood, Thornton and Cleveleys are increasingly being blighted by the birds.

Wyre council has recently reported a 600 per cent increase in dive-bombing gull attacks, with 47 incidents reported since April this year. Now it is suggesting dragging seagull feeders into court and fining them £100 via Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOS)

Under the proposals the council would ask members of the public to report individuals feeding the birds – so the culprits can be punished and fined.

But the idea of people spying on neighbours has left many people in the seaside towns uneasy.

Ian Gerrard, 64, said: “It feels wrong somehow to almost ‘recruit’ the public to do this. It could land people with disputes with their neighbours.”

Patricia O’connor wrote: “It seems a bit harsh using PSPOS fining people for feeding these birds. The rise in the use of these PSPOS has raised public concern. I hope the seagulls and gulls will fly off to a happier place where there will be no PSPOS.”

Traders in Cleveleys said there was a problem, but some expressed concern about how fines could be administered.

Martin Hunns, from the Carousel Diner, said: “People shouldn’t be feeding them but I’m not sure how you go about fining people. Is there going to be a dedicated seagull patrol?”

Jane Littlewood, from the Rossall Beach group, said: “If we were more respectful of where we live and did not leave litter lying about and did not feed the gulls then I feel we could get on more harmoniously.”

Wyre council says there has been an increase in reported physical attacks on humans by seagulls and complaints about noise from the birds.

The authority is also concerned by the impact seagull droppings have on bathing water quality and an increase in reports of property damage. It is illegal to injure or kill gulls or destroy their nests as the birds are protected by law. Herring gulls have previously been considered to be in “serious trouble” and on the conservation concern “red list” after a 74 per cent decline in numbers since the Seventies.