Dumfries and Galloway Council 'missed the window' in gull battle

Dumfries has had problems with gulls for a number of years

A council has "missed the window of opportunity" to continue its fight with nuisance town centre gulls this year.

The Dumfries and Galloway local authority offers an egg and nest removal scheme in and around Dumfries.

However, a contractor was not able to be appointed due to coronavirus restrictions.

The council said the eggs had now hatched, meaning the opportunity to run the scheme had passed and the project would now be subject to review.

In previous years eggs and nests have been removed from buildings

Dumfries has long-standing issues with urban gulls swooping and taking food, as well as noise and mess problems.

Last year, local football team Queen of the South threatened to evict fans caught feeding the birds.

The egg and nest removal scheme has been offered for more than a decade and costs more than £20,000 a year to operate.

It has been credited with gathering "vital information" which has been shared with scientists and other local authorities.

Analysis: By Giancarlo Rinaldi, BBC news website south of Scotland reporter

In the early days of lockdown, the streets of Dumfries appeared to be missing a familiar sound.

Without many of their usual food sources, the squawk of the gulls was absent.

However, their noise has increased significantly in recent weeks as life returns to the town centre.

The egg and nest removal scheme was credited with reducing issues in the area.

Further studies will now need to assess what impact its absence has had on bird numbers in the town.

The total number of breeding pairs in or near Dumfries had been driven down from its peak - but remains higher than when the project started.

Numbers in the town centre, however, had been cut significantly with the scheme intended to run again this year.

"We had to suspend the project due to the coronavirus restrictions and therefore we did not appoint a contractor to do this work," said a council statement.

"We had already applied for the licence from Scottish Natural Heritage and this was granted: therefore we were able to remove some eggs and nests on our own properties under the authority of the licence.

"We have unfortunately missed the window of opportunity for egg and nest removal as eggs have now hatched, but we're using this period to review the project and assess how it would be most effectively delivered in future."

A report will go to its communities committee at a later date.