Looe have been warned: Seagulls hope for rich Easter pickings

With thousands of trippers preparing to descend on the South West this Easter, councillors for Looe have decided to fight the seagulls through their stomachs.

The advice is part of a multi-pronged attack on the bothersome birds, following previous aborted attempts.

Earlier this year the town advertised for an egg oiler, whose job would have been to coat the gulls' eggs with liquid paraffin.

Getting bolder

The paraffin creates a barrier around the egg which sterilises it.

But that idea has now been ditched because contractors demanded too much money.

Now Caradon District Council is holding a roadshow to discourage feeding of the gulls and to suggest methods of stopping the birds nesting on property.

Environmental health officer Martin Gregory, said: "The seagulls can become very territorial, and anyone coming near them is a potential threat."

One deterrent is an electronic bird scarer which mimics a gull in distress and, over time, should keep gulls away.

And though the gadgets have been effective in some places, the council's trial use of them is not popular with everyone.

One resident said it had no effect on the seagulls and only upset the locals.

Meanwhile on the quayside in Looe, the gulls are getting bolder, summoning their courage for the summer of feasting ahead.