Exasperated locals report that the birds arrive early in the morning and stay until late at night, leading some to fear that their presence is diminishing property values in the area

The winged scavengers have descended upon a landfill site in Hyndburn, Lancashire (Image: William Lailey / SWNS)

A town located 30 miles from the nearest coast has been swarmed by an ‘apocalyptic’ flock of up to 3,000 seagulls.

The winged scavengers have descended upon a landfill site in Hyndburn, Lancashire, creating scenes reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 horror film, The Birds. Shocking footage reveals the vast number of seagulls circling overhead, with local homes, cars and gardens being bombarded by bird droppings.

Exasperated locals report that the birds arrive early in the morning and stay until late at night, leading some to fear that their presence is diminishing property values in the area.

Gary Hough, 62, looks up to the skies outisde his home surrounded in seagulls (Image: William Lailey / SWNS)
Gary Hough, 62, said: “There must have been 3,000 seagulls above my house on Wednesday this week. I’ve never seen anything like it. The gulls are here about 7am and head towards the tip and they come in dribs and drabs but start to congregate.

“Then from 8am onwards, that’s when the majority of them come and it’s just constant until around 9.30pm.”

Locals say their houses, cars and gardens are being bombarded by bird poo (Image: William Lailey / SWNS)
Gary and his partner Cheryl Gouldstone, 59, who have lived in their £200,000 semi for eight years, are concerned that the bird plague might devalue properties in the area.

They say that while birds have always been attracted to the site, the problem has worsened since last October and escalated dramatically since April.

The site operator, Suez, has implemented mitigation measures such as setting off loud noises to scare away the birds. But Gary laments that this only sends the birds into a frenzy, raining down their droppings on everything below.

An aerial view of Whinney Hill Landfill site, operated by Suez (Image: William Lailey / SWNS)
Cheryl compared the situation to a horror movie, saying: “It’s like an Alfred Hitchcock film. There’s visual pollution, noise pollution and people can’t believe this is going on.

“They set off pistol-like bangs to get rid of them, but all it does is scares them off in droves. You can’t sit in the garden as it’s covered in bird poo. They’re dropping food in the gardens.”

Gary recounted a recent close call in traffic caused by the distracting avian chaos.

He has taken action by creating a Facebook page for community discussion and is coordinating a public meeting with landfill operators Suez and local councillors next month.

Locals likened it Alfred Hitchcok’s 1963 horror The Birds (Image: William Lailey / SWNS)
He added: “There’s always been a bit of a smell and the odd bird, but it’s never been like this.”

Local borough councillor Vanessa Alexander, who also lives near the tip, says her car is always covered in bird poo.