Their brazen chip-snatching, swooping and aggressive squawking has earned seagulls a reputation as the scourge of seaside towns, terrorising unsuspecting tourists and enraging residents alike.

And as the marauding birds have ventured inland and established urban colonies, towns have deployed spikes, netting and even birds of prey as deterrents. Now Worcester city councillors appear to be contemplating a new escalation in the battle: bird contraceptives.

Inspired by experimental pigeon-control schemes in Barcelona and Venice, the Labour councillor Jill Desayrah described the approach as “safe sex for seagulls”. “I am concerned that the increasing numbers of gulls are getting out of hand,” she said, according to a report in the Mirror.