ACTION is being taken against hungry seagulls swooping down and attacking schoolchildren during playground breaks.
Specially-trained birds of prey are being used at Tollbar and Cleethorpes Academies to frighten the gulls.
East Riding Pest Control's birds, Squeaker, a Harris Hawk, and a falcon, now deter birds by sitting on the roof of the academies.
The gulls then send out a warning call to others in their flock – and pupils can eat in peace!
So far, the bold gulls have tried dive-bombing Squeaker, but the experienced hawk has been trained not to react.
Tollbar Academy student Emily Page said: "The seagulls are a real nuisance.
"They used to fly above us and land nearby, but they have become much bolder and they will try to take our food. It is not much fun when you are trying to eat your lunch, so we are glad that the hawk is here."
Classmate Katie-Marie George added: "The hawk is amazing. It just sits up on the roof and you can see the seagulls are very wary of it."
Tollbar's principal, Stephen Moon, said: "We had to take action. We have only just started the process but we are assured it will not take long for the gulls to get the message and stay away."
East Riding Pest Control is run by father-and-daughter team Holly and Paul Raper, who train the birds not to attack people. They release the falcon and 18-month-old Squeaker – which can fly at up to 40 miles per hour – to the roof, where they sit for 15 minutes until the seagulls understand it is a dangerous place to be.
Holly said: "The gulls dive-bomb the birds of prey at first but they simply sit there and take it. Once the seagulls and other birds realise the birds of prey have marked the area as their territory, they know to move away – and, most importantly, they do not come back.
"It is a totally humane process which takes a few weeks to work.
"The gulls soon learn that if I'm here, the birds of prey are nearby too. Before long, my presence is enough to act as a deterrent.
"We have worked all over the country. We teach them to automatically fly to the top of buildings and sit there to survey the territory.
Seagulls are notorious for their boldness.
In June 2010, we reported how visitors to People's Park were advised to duck and run for cover from crows.
A number of dog walkers had been scratched to their heads, faces and necks because the crows were instinctively attacking people to protect their young.
