About 20,000 birds feed at the city's Hempstead tip at any one time.

About a dozen sand-filled eggs will be placed in nests and monitored to see if it helps to limit the gulls' numbers.

The experiment coincides with the annual oiling process which sterilises the eggs and keeps the birds sitting on their nests for longer.

Fewer eggs are hatched as a result, cutting the risk of attack by adults protecting their young.

'Perfectly edible'

City council spokesman, Marcus Rudkin, said that some members of staff had expressed an interest in eating the eggs which are removed from the nests in the new trial.

"Apparently, they are perfectly edible. A restaurant in London does a roaring trade in gulls' egg dishes during the breeding season.

"From sustainability point of view, it's better to eat them than throw them away, " he said.

The city has one of the largest urban gull infestations in the country.

Regional seminar

An estimated 20,000 birds feed at the city's Hempstead landfill site at any one time.

Last year, the city hosted a national conference on gulls and an action group was formed to try to tackle the problem.

This summer, a regional seminar will be held in Gloucester with other local authorities from the South West to share examples of best practice over the past 12 months.

Principal planning officer, Meyrick Brentnall, said: "It is a very complex issue to deal with but we have to do something to try and limit their growth."