The urban gull problem is caused entirely by human behaviour.

The overall population of herring gulls has almost halved in the last 25 years. Numbers are plummeting, not increasing. They are merely relocating to easier feeding grounds, thanks to the ever-increasing amounts of litter we so kindly provide.

Herring gulls are very intelligent creatures who very quickly latched on to our takeaway food habits.

Dartmouth needs many more rubbish bins and these should be closed with a flip top, perhaps.

The present ones have round or rectangular openings which are very useful perches to enable gulls to lean into the bins and pull out the rubbish.

Perhaps all the takeaway outlets, supermarkets, cafes, etc, could be persuaded to contribute to the cost of supplying and emptying extra bins from their considerable profits on such goods.

I often ask people very politely to stop feeding the birds along the embankment and in Royal Avenue Gardens.

Once we change our habits, these magnificent creatures will soon retire to the cliffs where they belong.

Jennie Lloyd-Edwards

Lower Broad Park, Dartmouth