A COUNCIL has turned to eagles and hawks to protect families trying to enjoy a city park from angry gulls.

Sunderland City Council has deployed the birds of prey at its flagship Mowbray Park, after a summer of complaints of aggressive gulls harassing and dive bombing pleasure seekers.

It is believed to be the first time the “raptor patrols” have been tried in the region and the council says it will assess the success of the pilot in due course.

Councillor Ellen Ball, chair of the east area committee, said: “The gulls are a protected species but they can be a nuisance for a lot of people and visitors.

“The feedback we’ve had about the hawk and eagle patrols has been excellent. It seems that these do panic the gulls and the birds of prey have become an added attraction for visitors.

“We hope that the Sunderland gulls are now, gradually, getting the message and keeping away from Mowbray Park.

“While the council uses this humane deterrent, we’d still like to remind everyone, residents and visitors, please don’t feed the gulls, wherever you live.”

The birds being used are a European Eagle Owl, a Red Tailed buzzard and a Harris Hawk.

Vicious gulls has become a national issue this summer, with reports of the birds attacking and killing dogs and a pet tortoise in Cornwall. David Cameron was even questioned on the possibility of a cull.

The Prime Minister, who has been holidaying in Cornwall this week, said there needed to be a “big conversation” about the issue and the government needed to listen to people who understood it and were affected by it.

The Sunderland trial began in mid-July and runs until this Sunday (August 30).

Stuart Laidler, of Durham’s Eagle Enterprises, said: “Our raptors have been on a combination of foot patrols where birds are carried in full view in order to deter gulls, or we do free flights.

“For the flights, the raptors are over-conditioned and they are technically not hungry. All the actions are a humane deterrent and not intended for the gulls to be attacked or harmed.

“Visitors have told us that we’ve helped transform the park and it’s nice to actually be able to feed the ducks.”