A DESPAIRING councillor says she has tried everything in a bid to stop rowdy colonies of nuisance gulls nesting on a business estate and terrorising nearby residents... and has almost given up hope.

Bev Oxford has been working to try to find a solution to birds nesting on the roofs of businesses at the Severalls Industrial Estate in Colchester for many years.

Each year complaints continue to flood in from residents, particularly around nesting season in the spring.

But Mrs Oxford says with the birds being a protected species, options are limited.

She said: “I feel so sorry for residents as they go through it on a yearly basis around nesting season.

“I have had environmental health out and I have spoken to the businesses on Severalls.

“Some are trying to move the birds on by flying birds of prey above the roofs, but as soon as the birds of prey go, the gulls return. They are not daft animals and they know what they’re doing.

“I do not see any way forward because they are protected.”

The birds nesting on the flat roofs of the industrial estate are believed to be herring gulls and are thought to have first arrived on Severalls in 2012.

Despite the efforts of Mrs Oxford, along with her husband Gerard, son Philip and Essex county councillor Anne Turrell, no solution has been found.

Last month, the Gazette reported gulls have also made a tower in the grounds of Colchester Hospital their home and Mrs Oxford believes the groups of birds are mixing and causing extra trouble.

Mrs Oxford said: “It really is a nightmare for residents and I want to help them, but I can’t.

“They start off making noise at about 4.30am and keep going into the evening, then before you know it, they’re out in the morning again.

“They are such a nuisance. I am sure some people think they are wonderful birds but not when they’re waking you up at 4.30am.

“It is frustrating because every year I try something different but I can never get anywhere.

“I even looked into the possibility of using a loud boom noise to get rid of them but you can’t do that either as it is too close to to residential properties.”

She added: “I have almost given up hope.”