Birds of prey to scare off pesky gulls

WORCESTER is to bring in birds of prey to tackle its large community of gulls.

Despite being landlocked, Worcester has seemed very popular with gulls in recent years.

The noisy birds can be a menace to shoppers, residents and businesses alike.

Last year the council spent £30,000 on measures to get rid of the pests – but this year it has announced this will double to £60,000.

The bulk of the money will go on hiring falcons, hawks and other birds of prey to fly around the city and scare the gulls away.

A trial run using the birds last year proved such a success council bosses now want to make it permanent.

The birds will be released by their handlers at targeted spots around the city where there are known to be problems and will spend two hours flying around to stop the gulls from making nests on roof tops.