Gloucester has one of the largest urban gull populations in the UK

The city council scheme works by fooling birds into nesting on the sand-filled eggs, which will not hatch, so they do not lay any more.

The plan was tested on a small scale last year, and now the plastic eggs are being sold by a local company.

Gloucester has one of the largest urban gull populations in the UK.

But local people complain the birds are noisy and messy.

We are behind these measures as long as they are undertaken in a humane way RSPB spokesman

The city council has tried numerous tactics to get rid of the gulls, from frightening them off with loud music and fireworks to oiling their eggs to prevent them hatching.

Councillor Andrew Lewis said: "'Our work is really paying dividends and there is a noticeable improvement in our city centre.

"We are leading the country in our efforts to find ways to deal with the issue. Our plastic eggs are proving to be a novel but useful addition to the armoury."

An RSPB spokesman said: "We do recognise that there has been an increase in nesting gulls in urban areas.