Worcester's Shirehall is being ruined by seagulls. Pictures by Roy Booker. 13346303

THEY are a nuisance to many, but flocks of seagulls are proving to be a real problem for bosses at Worcester Crown Court.

The big grey and white birds roost on the 19th century building causing damage to the exterior and blocking drains with droppings and debris.

Although the Shirehall in Foregate Street already has methods of preventing sea-gulls from landing on the building they are not working well enough, so an application has been submitted to Worcester City Council to install a wider range of measures to deter the birds.

Court manager Janet Lloyd said: "I hope it gets approved because it will prevent a lot of damage being done to such a fine building."

In a survey report to Worcester City Council, building surveyor Richard Sword of EC Harris, acting on behalf of the crown court, said: "Seagulls nesting on the roof has become a serious problem to the building's operation. On several occasions the building has flooded, causing extensive damage to the beautiful great hall interior.

"My client has tried, at a substantial cost, a maintenance scheme to clean the gutters. However, this has been largely unsuccessful simply due to the fact sea-gulls can carry large amounts of rubbish onto the roof at any given time and block water outlets.

"On two separate occasions flooding has been caused due to dead seagulls blocking the outlets. Furthermore, seagull excrement has caused damage to lead work and the sandstone sculpture at the front elevation of the building."

It has been proposed to install netting in areas not seen from the ground, to set up tension wires - which have worked well in other areas of Worcester - add more spikes and a system called Daddi Long Legs. This consists of stainless steel wires which bounce in the wind, or when they come into contact with birds. The movement irritates the gulls, but the wires are tipped with plastic to ensure they are not injured.

If the anti-seagull plans are given the go-ahead it is estimated they will take three weeks to complete, possibly longer if work can only be done at weekends.

Your Worcester News previously reported that the statue of Queen Victoria, which stands at the entrance to the Shirehall, is also set to be cleaned as part of a programme of improvements.

9:21am Wednesday 26th March 2008

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