Sir, Could I take this opportunity to advise locals and visitors alike who leave their domestic or onboard refuse outside houses and roadsides to pay particular attention to how this attracts common seagulls who are steadily colonising and becoming almost domesticated in their attempts to vacate a coastline and live on the means and scraps of the wasteful minority. I have seen these gulls soar down to discarded litter at an outstanding speed; particular targets are benches and refuse bags left hours before their collection time. Rightly so, council refuse collectors should not pick up the aftermath of individuals that leave a domestic household collection pulled apart by seagulls. The common seagull is very ambitious and an account I have read, is that they can accelerate up to 40 mph to a find, and will swoop at any intervention and defend their territory well. Thirty years ago there was never the need for extra staff to cover litter problems - could it be a substance of seagulls that has distributed the nuisance within ourselves?

Yvonne M. Nicholl Penally.