AN EXTRA £5,000 will be spent by the council hiring a huge cherry picker to find hard-to-reach and out-of-sight gull nests.

Worcester City Council has been working to try and get to grips with the city’s gull problem after a potential controversial cull was ruled out at the end of last year because it would have been illegal.

Councillor Joy Squires, chairman of the council’s environment committee, put out a plea for the extra money, on top of the £30,000 already allocated to tackle the gull problem, in time for next year’s budget.

Cllr Squires said: “[Hidden nests] have been a problem for a long time. A lot of nests elude us because we can’t get them but by hiring a cherry picker, which is quite expensive, we can do.

“It is very specifically a sum, in addition, for the cherry picker.

The city council has already hired a new ‘gull officer’ specifically tasked with finding ways to sort out the problem.

The council’s environment committee has earmarked £30,000 to find other ways to tackle the problem, including the use of lasers.

The officer has already been making “very good progress” with the council’s action plan for gull control according to Cllr Squires.

The plea for funds was backed by the council’s policy and resources committee at a meeting on Tuesday (February 4).

Cllr Marc Bayliss, leader of the city council, said: “It’s a small additional contribution which will help a very needed problem and it’s a move in the right direction.”

Cllr Simon Geraghty said: “This is something that has certainly come up in the communities quite a lot and more recently in some of the communities on the outskirts of the city, which I don’t think we have really ever had before.

“It’s certainly something that is high profile and if we are finding a solution then £5,000 is another of example of how small sums of money can make a big difference to people’s lives and the quality of their lives. It’s not often the big things that make a huge impact, it’s the small things. It’s a really positive move.”