READERS of The Mail have reacted following a warning from Cumbria police telling residents not to mistreat seagulls as issues with the birds continue to rise.

One reader claims they have seen a spate of abuse towards the birds.

Victoria Seaman said: “No creature asks to be born and no creature deserves to be born and abused, be it humans, dogs, gulls or even rats.

"Something needs to be done to prevent people taking matters into their own hands and if that means removing nests so they are forced to go elsewhere so be it.

"I’d rather see that than see the stories I’ve seen recently about them getting shot and having their feet ripped off due to netting. Giving the public smaller black bins fuelled the fire of rubbish around the town as they are too small even if you recycle everything you can, especially for large families.”

Another reader has also suggested a change to seagulls’ nesting.

John Lamb explained: “They are no longer sea birds. They have adapted to living off the waste people discard from fast food outlets etc. They are nesting on buildings rather than the shore and they teach their young how to plunder bins and harass people to drop food.

"You only have to go to Hollywood Park and witness it yourself. They are exploiting the environment that they are living in.

"They need to be encouraged to nest out of town on the coast like they used to. Something has occurred to interrupt the food chain and forced them in land where they have stayed ever since. I have been told it was the plundering of mussel and cockle beds as well as the closure of Walney tip.”

Other readers have pointed to the amount of waste left by residents causing an influx of gulls.

Gaz Holmes said: “It’s nothing to do with living by the sea. It’s to do with the amount of rubbish they have to feed on (black bags, McDonald’s etc), so they will continue to thrive and become more of a problem.”

One reader added: “It’s shocking around my area for people chucking waste food out of their windows for the birds.”