A Montrose pensioner has been left shocked and upset after being ordered by Angus Council to remove all bird feeders from her front garden.
Anne Chrystall and her husband Jim have been council tenants in Glenprosen Street for 30 years and take great pride in their garden, which has been a regular winner in the annual competition run by the local authority.
”The feeders have always been there and there has never been any complaint before from the judges,” Mrs Chrystall said. ”So it was such a shock when a council officer arrived the other day and ordered me to take them down.
“I was told there had been a complaint that I was feeding the seagulls. But I’ve only ever put out seeds and nuts for the small birds. We’ve never had any seagulls come to the feeders.”
She said the housing officer had been abrupt and rude.
”She didn’t even introduce herself,” she said. ”Angus Council has certainly gone down in my estimation. I don’t bother anybody and have never asked for anything.
”The special needs children from Lochside come past here especially to enjoy the wee birds on the feeders. But the council just seems to want to take the enjoyment out of life for everybody.”
Montrose councillor Mark Salmond said that while the local authority was trying to take a robust approach to dealing with the menace of seagulls, Mrs Chrystall would appear to have been unfairly targeted.
He said: ”The practice of putting out feeders for garden birds must be going on all over Angus. I will look into the exact tenancy conditions on this. But in any event, it appears a single complaint was received about Mrs Chrystall attracting seagulls to her garden. Surely a complaint would need to be substantiated before any action was taken?”
A spokeswoman for Angus Council said: ”There is a duty on tenants to ensure they do not cause annoyance or distress to neighbours, and housing officers work closely with tenants to resolve any difficulties which arise.”