SIR – Thank goodness for scavengers otherwise we would be up to our knees in dead things.

Pointless to shoot or poison the gulls, there are tens of thousands on the Hill and Moor Landfill site looking for a better pitch in town with less competition.

Gulls have only moved inland in the last 50 years since their natural food sources declined and the human population became so rich that they could afford to chuck food away. Behaviour unthinkable to our grandparents.

Half-eaten food can always be found in Worcester streets and parks despite the efforts of the city council, and black bin bags left outside houses and businesses almost always contain some food. Gull are big birds, they need a lot of calories so are searching for food all day until the night shift takes over, staffed by rats and urban foxes.

So, treat the causes - food waste and littering - not the symptoms.

Derek Fearnside

Worcester

National Service tales

SIR – The National Service Life Stories project is conducting oral history interviews with men from the West Midlands who did National Service between 1949 and 1960.

About 2.3 million young men were called up for National Service. Some saw active service in Korea or Malaya, or were posted to Europe, but many faced two years of boredom in Britain while subject to strict military discipline. A whole generation were effected by these experiences, but historians know little about how this shaped men’s lives afterwards.

This project, conducted by historians at the University of Essex will explore how National Service affected men’s working and family lives, their political values, attitudes to authority, community and discipline, and importantly, how people remember National Service.

Ex-National Servicemen who might like to be interviewed can find out more by emailing nationalservice@essex.ac.uk.

Dr Joel Morley

University of Essex

Perils of the school run

SIR – The article in the Worcester News (April 11) concerning inconsiderate parking of motor vehicles particularly near schools is both important and opportune. I urge the police and other agencies to carefully consider then act on the dangers apparent from the parking of vehicles during the morning and afternoon school run outside Pitmaston School in Malvern Road. In my experience it is very difficult to drive safely along Malvern Road at those times of the day.

Dave Skelton

Worcester

Don’t waste precious vote

SIR – For many, June 23 2016 will be the most democratic vote ever to be cast since the 1970s.

Simply because it is your vote which has nothing at all to do with any politician, of any party.

It really is your vote only. Politicians at any level of importance will have just one vote the same as us. This time there can be NO claims that they speak on our behalf, when in truth as always, they speak only in loyalty first to the political Party they belong to.

Some 40+ years ago my parents’ generation and my generation were misled by Ted Heath over the vote over a trading relationship with the EU. Tony Blair & Peter Mandelson, Jack Straw and many more continued to mislead us, as do the present politicians. We the people have millions of votes to save this once Great Britain, that has been squandered, given away to Europe’s unelected commissioners, who now make our laws.

Yes of course there are good things I am told by the remainers, which come from Europe, but they are seriously overshadowed by the unfair restraints placed upon our industries, businesses, laws, which at this moment Cameron has not got round to relinquishing more to Brussells.

So everyone should use their treasured vote which as said is nothing at all to do with politicians but all to do with protecting our own borders and destiny. We the people are good enough to say how we run this country, sadly our politicians are just not good enough to carry out the job.

Brian Hunt

Worcester

Dogs on charity walk

SIR – I was surprised to see dogs had been taken along on the British Heart Foundation fund raising walk , as dogs are used in the animal testing they do in their research! I think the British Heart Foundation would get more funds if they stopped using animal testing. Animals have been found time and time again not to be reliable in medical testing. I’m sure those dogs on the walk wouldn’t like what they do to their brethren.

Max Burgess

Malvern

Immigrants work claim

SIR – GB Dipper stated that “immigrants in work take out far more than they pay in”.

I would like to know on what basis he makes this claim. Is it based on fact or is it yet another one of his blind assertions.

CLIVE SMITH

Malvern