There's a call for the way people behave near seagulls to change if the number of so called "seagull muggings" is to be reduced further.
Reducing the number of Seagull attacks in the Scarborough Borough is going to need local people and visitors to change their behaviour.
That's the view of a number of local councillors who have been looking at the borough's Seagull Strategy.
Councillor Sharma thinks there are simple things we can do to reduce the number of incidents but we might have to accept some extra costs.
That view has been echoed by a number of borough councillors who have been looking at the area's seagull strategy.
Councillor Bill Chatt says rather than spending lots of money on spikes and nets, we should look at changing people's behaviours.
Councillors were told there has been a reduction in "Gull Muggings" over the last few years. A report reviewing the councils strategy said:
"In the first three years the number of “gull mugging” reports remained stable (2016 to 2018).
From March to the end of December 2016 a total of 36 such reports were made to the Council. In the calendar years of 2017 and 2018 totals of 46 and 47 incidents were reported, respectively, of which 4 occurred from January to the start of March in both years.
Over the last three calendar years (2019 to 2021) there has been a drop in reported incidents compared to 2016 to 2018. There is no clear explanation for this dip in reported gull muggings since 2019 and it cannot be directly linked to any Council initiatives."
The report says that most incidents in the borough occurred in Scarborough with the seafront experiences the most.
"147 out of the total of 204 reports of gull muggings since 2016 came from the Scarborough area (representing 72% of all gull muggings to date).
A further 40 came from Whitby, including one in Fylingthorpe (19.6% of all muggings) and 17 from Filey (8.3% of all muggings).
The most common locations where reported muggings took place in Scarborough were on Westborough (28), around seafront sites such as Foreshore Road; the Quay; and Sandside (52).
In Whitby these were on Pier Road or Battery Parade (31). "
The data reported to councillors showed that most of the reported incidents occurred in the summer months.
"Most reported gull muggings occurred in the months of June (43) and July (58) and May/August (25 each).
These peak months are not surprising given May to August is the breeding season for herring gulls and kittiwakes and coincides with the highest numbers of visitors to our coastal towns."
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