Tony Whitehead, spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said he did not think "the hysteria is justified".

"There is an issue ... but to demonise the whole species off the back of a few incidents, I don't agree with that."

Pete Rock, an expert on urban gulls, called for further study using advanced technologies instead of destroying their eggs.

"They know everything there is to know about their home range, where all the food is, and where to go and mate."

"What we don't know is what they know, and the only way to find that out is to use satellite telemetry."