A COUNCILLOR has called for a cull on gulls in the city because current measures are doing nothing to tackle the “epidemic.”

Councillor Alan Amos has called on the council to apply for permission from the government to carry out a cull after hearing the “vicious flying rats” had been angering residents by waking them up in the early hours of the morning, “bombarding” cars with droppings, attacking pets and preventing them from sitting in their gardens and opening their windows.

He said: “If all this was being done by people, they would rightly be arrested. It is simply not acceptable that people should be expected to live in these conditions anywhere in our city."

Worcester City Council doubled the amount it spends on gull control to £30,000 last year. The extra money allowed the council to pay for a member of staff dedicated to tackling the gull problem. It also allowed the council to expand the area in which it substitutes gull eggs for fake ones.

The practice, which has been seen as the easiest and best way to minimise the problem, reduces the amount of food gulls need to scavenge for and prevents the birds from becoming aggressive when protecting chicks.

The council has also agreed to spend up to £144,000 on new ‘gull-proof’ bins for the city centre and has also looked at introducing £70 fines for feeding gulls as a way of tackling anti-social behaviour. Drones have also been used to spotting hard-to-find nests.

Cllr Amos said a cull is now the “only effective solution” to end the misery the gulls create in the city.

He said: “Clearly, current policies are not working. We have a new officer who has specific responsibility to deal with this problem. He has shown energy and initiative so the council needs to give him the resources and powers to finally eradicate these vicious flying rats which are causing such serious safety and health hazards, and end the misery they cause for thousands of the city’s residents.

“We know that no alternative policy has worked, or will, and I will not sit idly by and see my constituents needlessly suffer in this way. It is depressing that some people think gulls are far more important than the safety and health of residents.

“The bleeding-heart liberals need to get out the way and let us get on and solve this problem.”

The matter will be discussed at full council this evening.