Anti-bird netting on Anglesey hedge torn down

Extinction Rebellion stickers were found on a gatepost after the netting was removed

Controversial plastic netting to stop birds nesting near a new school site has been torn down.

The nets had been installed by contractors working for Anglesey council in preparation for the development in Llangefni.

Stickers from the Extinction Rebellion environmental campaign group were left on an access gate to the site.

The council said it would look at other ways of dealing with nesting birds following the outcry over the netting.

The authority said the netting had been forcibly removed some time on Wednesday.

How the netting appeared before it was torn down

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) had criticised the netting, claiming it risked trapping birds or denying them valuable nesting space.

Anglesey councillors had backed the installation of the nets a month after the authority was awarded plastic-free status by environmental group Surfers Against Sewage.

The authority claimed it was installed to ensure no birds would be displaced if the hedge was removed, adding that its aim to be plastic-free would "not happen overnight".

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A spokesman said: "We can confirm that the netting on site has been removed without consent and that our inquiries into this matter are still ongoing.

"However, we would also like to inform residents that we have listened to their concerns and will, in future, be looking at alternative methods of dealing with nesting birds in order to ensure that we minimise any potential impact to wildlife."

Extinction Rebellion North Wales has been contacted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service to ask if it had been involved, but neither the group nor anyone else has formally accepted responsibility for removing the netting.