THE sound of seagulls might once have evoked nostalgic memories of being near to the coast but Hereford now has its own population which isn't so popular.

Having moved inland in search of food, seagulls have firmly settled themselves into city life and in 2008 a programme was launched to keep the birds under control in Hereford.

And this week, the council confirmed that the programme is working – with the seagull population having been stabilised and numbers starting to decrease.

The city council funded programme, facilitated by Herefordshire Council, aims to stabilise and reduce the population of urban gulls for public health reasons, such as the spread of disease from the droppings, known as guano.

A number of pathogenic bacteria can survive in guano and the spread of rubbish by the gulls can attract rats and other vermin, although since the introduction of wheelie bins there has been a reduction in spilt refuse.

The control programme has seen a stabilisation in the city’s estimated 500 pairs and a decrease in numbers has recently been recorded.

Members of the public are also being urged to discard of litter in the city centre to stop the birds becoming aggressive.

"A main source of food for the gulls is thought to be discarded takeaway food, particularly in the city centre. We therefore urge the public to use the litter bins provided and not to feed or encourage gulls, not only for the public health reasons, but also because of their aggressive behaviour and their tendency to be predatory on garden birds and their young, particularly ducklings," a Herefordshire Council statement said.

"The July-August period always tends to be the busiest for the gulls, as those few breeding pairs that have managed to raise chicks will be seen away from their nests, finding as much food for their young as possible."

Urban gulls that have managed to lay eggs in the city centre, despite the programme to continually remove their nests, will become very defensive and attack any person or animal they feel is a threat.

"This aggressive behaviour is one of the main reasons why the council-led stakeholder group opted to remove their eggs rather than replace them with dummy ones, as gulls protecting artificial eggs will remain defensive and therefore a threat," the statement said.

"Conversely, a pair relaying eggs will rebuild the nest and in doing so will reduce their aggressive tendencies at this time. They can only relay up to three times and at this point they return to their normal, non-aggressive behaviour pattern."