BIRDS or prey have been flown in to prevent “aggressive seagulls” from attacking primary schoolchildren in Porthmadog.

A specialist company using a falcon and a hawk, will be patrolling the skies above Ysgol Eifion Wyn and the nearby Glaslyn Leisure Centre to drive the nuisance gulls out of town.

The gulls have been flying down from the roof of the leisure centre onto the Ysgol Eifion Wyn school yard in scenes reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic horror film, The Birds.

On one day the problem became so bad that the whole school was put in ‘lockdown’ to ensure the pupil’s safety with some worried parents stopping their children from attending school.

The gulls were nesting on the roof of the centre, and as some chicks had fallen down onto the school grounds the adult birds were a cause of concern for the school.

Gwynedd Council Cabinet member, Cllr Dafydd Meurig said: “Gulls are an every day sight around the Gwynedd coast, and can in some cases cause real concern to local residents.

“Last year in particular, there was an issue in Porthmadog, where there were reports of gulls diving down onto the school yard which obviously caused distress for the pupils and staff.

Read the full story in today’s Arfon/Dwyfor edition of the Cambrian News