Holidaymakers facing £80 fines for feeding the seagulls

Holidaymakers and seaside lovers could be hit with fines for feeding seagulls as part of new council powers.

The Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) issued by East Devon District Council mean people who feed the animals could be with an £80 fine.

The fines are being introduced in a bid to stop the birds attacking people for food after a long-running debate about how to deal with what many people see as a ‘scourge’ on Britain’s most popular seaside resorts.

In 2015, then Prime Minister David Cameron said a “big conversation” was needed about the threat from seagulls, and he recalled ham once being stolen from a sandwich by the birds.

In February MPs debated the issue ahead of breeding season, warning that pensioners had been among those attacked by the birds.

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Councillor Iain Chubb said that while gulls are an important part of the coastal environment, their behaviour can be problematic.

“You like to see the birds, it’s a nice part of the landscape, but you just don’t want them to be aggressive,” he said.

He said the fines are aimed at people who habitually feed the birds, and cafes and restaurants which do not dispose of waste food properly.

“It’s more a fine for where there is, say a catering establishment with bad practice of disposing of food, or there are little old ladies who like to go down and feed the seagulls,” said the councillor, who holds the environment portfolio.

“It’s one of those things where, if you’ve got somebody who is habitually feeding seagulls, it’s something to say you shouldn’t be doing this, there is a fine at the end of the day.”

Mr Chubb described the new measure as a “final backstop” which tackles the issue where anti-litter legislation could not, and added: “There aren’t going to be the police out looking for people throwing chips at birds, that’s for sure.”