Re: seagull cull We are absolutely dismayed and concerned to read, in a very small article in your newspaper, of a very large, important issue concerning this locality.

Re: seagull cull

We are absolutely dismayed and concerned to read, in a very small article in your newspaper, of a very large, important issue concerning this locality.

May I suggest that the persons who have authorised pest control to cull our beautiful gulls leave their centrally-heated ivory towers and study the situation a little more carefully and witness the mess that late night hooligans leave with the takeaway food - beef burgers, melted cheese, kebabs, it gets worse when having probably consumed six pints of beer, and all this cocktail mixed in the human stomach suddenly explodes on to our streets. Multiply this a few hundred times and a revolting mess soon appears.

But watching this disgusting human behaviour, these eagle eyed street cleaners that do not need payment, nor take sick time, or maternity leave or take holidays. They clean the streets of this mess, free of charge.

Yes, I am referring to these wonderful herring gulls, who are part of our seaside environment.

Two years ago I was sitting on a bench, in another seaside town, at about 10pm at night. The street lights illuminated a nearby rockery, where street louts were gulping down their takeaways. Behind them I observed the rockery "moving". I focused my observations and could see that, in the shadows of the street lights, rats were devouring the remains of these unwanted takeaways.

It is also interesting to note that the particular town that I was visiting also has a policy of removing the herring gulls, because the local councillor had his posh car splattered from time to time.

Without a doubt, looking at the new proposed eating areas in The Strand gardens and couple that with the eradication programme of our herring gulls, there will be a change of two-footed with feathers to a four-footed with a furry coat problem, because of yet another ill-conceived answer to the town's constant problem of food being thrown around the town centre in the early hours and planners giving permission for change of use of premises to flats, yet no provision has been made for wheelie bin housing.

R J Penberthy,

13 Langstone Drive,

Exmouth.