Sleepless nights, cars being divebombed and gull attacks – we thought we’d heard it all.
But when one Lossiemouth resident came to us and described the middle-of-the-night racket they suffered, we felt we had to check it out.
Reporter Sean McAngus and photographer Jason Hedges visited the coastal Moray town at 3am to see – and hear – the gull problem for themselves.
Here is Sean’s take.
I could hardly stand it
A visit to the Co-op and neighbouring streets in the dark showed just how serious the problem is.
Roofs and the sky seemed to be filled with gulls making lots of noise.
I honestly don’t know how people sleep during the night.
I was only there for two hours, on a single night, and I could hardly stand it.
It is fair to say too many people fall into the trap of thinking the gull problem is only in Elgin when it is causing issues across Moray.
Elgin remains the focus of discussions, with a gull management plan currently being drawn up.
In other parts – and certainly Lossie – residents will be questioning why nothing is happening to tackle the problem.
Even as it got brighter in Lossiemouth, there was no sign of the noise quietening down and gulls disappearing.
Why did we visit at 3am?
Our visit comes after hearing many local concerns.
We have previously reported how Caroline Sutherland was left bloodied and bruised after she was attacked by two seagulls outside Lossiemouth Co-op on Couldardbank Road.
Her daughter Donna Stuart said “more needs to be done” to tackle the problem.
‘Every single night I can’t sleep, they are so noisy at 3am’
Meanwhile, David Stewart who lives at Fairisle Place tells of “sleepless nights” due to the noisy gulls.
Mr Stewart explained: “Regarding the gulls menace, this is definitely the worst we have had to endure .
“I did complain to Moray Council but was told as the nests were not on my roof and the residents who had nests would need to complain.
“Around our house are 18 young gulls not flying yet on six roofs across on the local Co-op.
“On three streets you could probably count over 100.
“The noise from about 3am is horrendous and there is no chance of having a window open all night.
“Every single night I can’t sleep, they are so noisy at 3am.”
“If that was me playing music at that level I would served with an Anti Social Behaviour Order.”
He believes the demolition of the old high school and community centre has led to gulls moving into the residential areas.
David added: “The problem this year is probably worse with the old high school and community centre being knocked down and now the gulls have moved into the housing schemes.
“It is not the gulls’ fault, we are all at fault as for the last 20 years we let them get away with it.
“A nest here and there and now it is a challenge to spot a roof without a nest.
“Without a doubt, council should have done more involved.
“While there is a dozen on front of the Co-op roof and I’m surprised the Co-op hadn’t done anything about it as it is a health hazard.”
What is being done?
Some residents raised concerns about gulls gathering on the Co-op roof. The store was asked about what measures they have used to tackle the problem.
A spokeswoman said: “This is an issue bothering the whole of the Lossiemouth area and therefore you’d be best speaking with the council to see if they’ve got any plans to try and tackle it.
“If the council do have any plans or initiatives in place to help combat it, we’d welcome them getting in touch to see how we could help.”
Council official Jim Grant previously said: “There isn’t a legal duty for the council to tackle it and we can’t force buildings to put netting on roofs.
“We don’t have a legal duty to tackle the gull problem.
“It would be a matter to lobby Scottish Government and NatureScot for legal duty and funding.”
Conversation