PIGEON-LOVERS will be prosecuted if they feed the birds.

This was the stark warning from council chiefs as they revealed a scheme to set traps for pigeons - and cull the vermin.

War has been declared by environmental health experts who say people are fed up with being "bombed" in Southend High Street by the pigeons.

Councillors last night approved the series of activities aimed at reducing the town's pigeon population.

Steps include encouraging members of the public to stop feeding them.

Pigeon feeders will be cautioned at first before they are issued with a fixed penalty notice.

The next step for council officers would be to prosecute under littering laws for scattering pigeon food on the ground.

However, persistent offenders who have ignored fixed penalty fines and successful court prosecutions for littering could find themselves subject to a high court injunction.

Assistant director of housing and environmental services John Muzalewski said the number of pigeons in certain areas of Southend was a significant problem and it had to be tackled.

He said: "It's becoming a problem because of people feeding the birds.

"No-one likes to be bombed in the High Street and there is a health problem attached to this."

Experts have classed pigeons as vermin because the birds' droppings contains a noxious bacteria which can provoke respiratory illnesses in humans and even lead to lung disease.

Mr Muzalewski said it would be wrong to hide the fact that a cull will go ahead - but he said he "hoped" it wasn't necessary.

He added: "What people don't seem to realise is if they stop feeding the pigeons, then we don't have to cull them because there is a natural balance.

"When pigeons are being fed by members of the public they breed more effectively."

Six sites have been identified around Southend for setting up pigeon traps. The worst areas for complaints have been High Street, Prittlewell Square, Royal Terrace, Thames Drive, Milton Road and Hamlet Court Road.

Pest control officers will check the traps on a daily basis and any caged birds will be "humanely culled".

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