GULLS in Devizes had their feathers ruffled today with the arrival of Ruby, Sky, Izzy and Dexter.

The three magnificent hawks and a falcon got the sea gulls that have been plaguing homes and businesses in the London Road area of the town in a flap as they set about their work.

A specialist team of handlers and their birds this week started a three-year contract to frighten away the birds from the Garden Trading Estate area of the town.

Bird handler Harvey Pinniger, of NBC Bird and Pest Solutions, said: "The birds are trained from when they are very young. They do not attack the seagulls but their presence scares them off.

"But people will not see an instant change. The seagulls will not give up straightaway as they will not be expecting our birds to keep returning. It could take some months before people see a real difference."

Part of his team's work will be to destroy nests and replace real eggs with fakes so there will be far fewer chicks. This, said Mr Pinniger, should make the seagulls less aggressive as they are more likely to dive bomb humans when they have chicks.

Last year people living in White Horse Way were so distressed by the growing number of squawking birds that a petition was started calling for a solution.

Some people had become so desperate they were considering moving home.

Roundway Parish Council has paid £5,000 towards the cost of the birds of prey. Money has also come from Devizes Area Board and Devizes Town Council.

Area board chairman Laura Mayes said: "This has been a contentious issue for local people for quite some time so I am pleased, that with our partners, we are able to put this project into place which we all hope will make a big difference."

In November last year, Devizes Area Board received a petition signed by more than 300 people, and set up a working group consisting of the area board, public health, Roundway and Devizes parish councils to look at solutions to the problem.

The group has now enlisted expert help to carry out a three-year programme to deter gulls from nesting in this area. This involves a combination of using trained falcons and hawks to fly over the problem nesting area, which will disturb the gulls looking to nest, as well as officers carrying out nest removal work.

Ms Mayes said: “This is a great example of the importance of area boards in Wiltshire and what they can achieve – we react to local issues and problems by coming up with positive solutions.”

If there are any local businesses in the local area that are happy for gull nests to be removed from their roofs as part of this project, they should email publichealtheast@wiltshire.gov.uk or phone 01249 706309.

The programme will operate by flying hawks and falcons initially daily for the first few weeks and then on a weekly and fortnightly programme depending on the activity at the various sites. The falcons and hawks are bred and trained for this type of work and are handled by a trained operator.

Alongside the bird flying, nests on the industrial estate will be removed once a month during April, May and June where occupiers have granted access and where roofs can be accessed safely.

Once gulls reach adulthood at the age of three they will return to the same area where they were born to breed. Occasionally birds from outside of the colony will arrive from as far afield as Devon and Wales.

The programme will run for a period of three years as this is the time period when herring gulls, which are those mainly involved in Devizes, return to where they were born and bred.

All birds, eggs and their nests are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Natural England can issue general licenses to control gulls where there is a significant risk to public safety or public health concerns. General nuisance, disturbance and damage to property from gulls do not fall under this criterion.