ALMOST 200 seagulls, including 30 chicks, have been shot this year after a Scots city decided to take lethal measures over a plague of aggressive birds.

After trying everything from noise deterrents, plastic owls, anti-landing systems and netting, Dundee City Council has taken to using deadly force in a bid to control the birds.

Attacks on locals and visitors to the town have been increasing, with the out of control gull population dive bombing their victims to steal food.

The council has also removed 401 individual gull eggs as measures to control numbers intensify.

Gulls are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it illegal to kill, injure or remove any wild bird.

Shooting the animals is only ever considered as a last resort, where it has been demonstrated every non-lethal alternative has been exhausted.

People leaving food, either by dropping it or feeding birds, has led to gulls becoming familiar with humans to the point of identifying them as a food source.

Warmer weather in city environments has also induced the birds to reproduce in in larger numbers.

Last month 80-year-old Margaret Cruickshanks suffered a heart attack after being repeatedly dive-bombed by a seagull.

A spokesmann for Dundee City Council said: “We know gulls can often be a cause for considerable distress and annoyance and we continually pursue tried and tested as well as innovative solutions to the problems that arise from these birds.”