Southend railway station employs hawk to scare pigeons

Bella the hawk is set to help control the impact of pigeons at a Southend railway station

A bird of prey named Bella has been employed to deter "nuisance pigeons" from visiting an Essex railway station.

The bird, a Harris hawk, has been brought in at Southend East to scare away other birds, said a spokesperson for train company c2c.

Bella's arrival follows the success of Keith the Hawk who helped control the impact of pigeons at other stations last year.

She will work for a couple of days a week until the problem subsides.

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The train company wants to reduce nesting which results in pigeon droppings.

A c2c spokesperson said the scent of a hawk was enough to scare away pigeons, and Bella was not going to harm or interact with the other birds in any other way.