A POSTER and leaflet campaign is to be launched following complaints that pigeons are ‘plaguing’ Colne Precinct.

Repeated complaints have been made regarding the birds, and the mess they leave behind, prompting the town’s area committee to support action over the Market Street parade.

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An initial £200 was agreed by councillors for a leaflet and poster campaign, to be promoted by neighbourhood officers, and a further report into possible solutions to the pigeon problem will be brought to a future meeting of the area committee.

An approach will also be made to the town’s taxi association representatives as a number of cabbies are thought to be responsible for frequently feeding the birds, while they wait on the hackney carriage rank in Market Street.

Council solicitor Richard Townson said that there were a number of options open to the committee, with at least two other local authorities securing restricted licences to ‘cull’ problem pigeon populations.

Coun Dorothy Lord, who chairs the Colne in Bloom group, said: “It has been a problem in Colne for quite some years.

“But people are still feeding the pigeons and they are becoming a nuisance and a health hazard so we need to drive the message home.”

And Coun Paul White, who leads on town centre affairs for Pendle Council, said he was in favour of ‘eradicating’ the problem.

Coun Tony Greaves protested about a perceived threat, within the proposed leaflets, to prosecute repeat offenders, as he felt it may alienate people rather than encourage them to act responsibly.

Shopper Leslie Pilling, who lives in the town’s Waterside district, said: “You need to get a hawker to bring down the numbers.

“The problem is made worse because you see people getting takeaways and throwing their rubbish on the floor.”

Precinct shopper David Greenlees added: “You used to get some people who would find their nests and break their eggs. And if you had a cull then all you’d get is dead birds all over the shop.”

Norma Glover, of Talbot Street, added: “They helped us during the war and I have a lot of time for pigeons - my husband was in the Grenadier Guards.

“Lots of people think that they’re dirty but I respect them. I’ll abide by the rules and not feed them but there will always be some who will drop stuff for them.”