A hawk expert from Skelmorlie has offered solutions to help Largs rid itself of its gull menace.

Martyn McCulloch believes he can help Largs resolve its seagull problem by flying birds of prey along the prom.

As reported last week, local mum Jane Wilson has launched a ‘Please Don’t Feed the Seagulls’ campaign after a friend’s son was attacked, and injured, by a seagull on Largs prom earlier in the summer.

Martyn, who runs KG Hawks, suggested that introducing the hawks in tandem with setting up a seagull feeding station with the RSPB, would help eradicate the ‘severe problem’.

He said: “Seagulls are used to being fed, and bins with rubbish bags full of chips inside is not going to deter them. I saw lots of people at the Food Festival feeding seagulls.

“We normally use our birds as a deterrent by flying the birds up and down the prom for a few days, and work them away to an area which is less populated, and let them congregated.

“If I use a goshawk, the seagulls will disappear quickly, or even a harris hawk, and although they are not natural predators, they could also be used to move the seagulls onwards to another location away from the centre of town.

“I have had experience in pest control in the past, and used the hawks successfully in Anglesey, so it could also work here in Largs.” Martyn added it was important to provide a feeding station area elsewhere in order to move the food source and keep the gulls in a designated zone.

“There is no doubt about it that gulls come to Largs town centre because of the food source and no other reason - you don’t have trawler boats and there is no attraction in terms of nesting; if there is no free food, the gulls will move elsewhere.

“You need to move the gulls to an area where there is less of a problem.” Martyn said that he has already been called to Morrison’s Supermarket in the past to deal with a pigeon problem, and would be happy to help at Largs if need be.