BULMERS has said that it can do little to control over the mess caused by thousands of starlings on a Hereford street.

The Hereford Times last month reported the problems that people in Macmillan Close faced on a daily basis by the 20,000 starlings that fly overhead.

The Moorfields residents described how everything gets "pebble-dashed" and they have to wash their cars daily so the bird's dropping do not corrode the paintwork.

Thousands of starlings were also seen majestically flying around the Bobblestock and Westfields areas of the city on Saturday evening and there have been calls to trim the trees that the birds currently live near the Bulmers plant in the hope that they will move on..

But, Bulmers said that they are powerless to do much because they are protected wild birds.

'We are very sympathetic to our neighbours dealing with this situation and the mess caused by the birds, however there is a fine balance to be struck," said Bulmers spokesman Nicola Heath.

"While we want to help our neighbours wherever we can, we also have a responsibility to the natural environment.

"We have reviewed potential courses of action and sought advice from a range of experts.

"At this stage we have been advised that we can only keep the situation under review and hope that the starlings decide that it's time to seek a sunnier climate.

"We will continue to stay in contact with the residents of Macmillan Close and will discuss longer term solutions to help discourage future occurrences.'