Officials today claimed victory in a battle against Wellington’s ever-rising pigeon problem. About 500 of the birds had been gathering in the town centre.

It had led to concerns about their droppings covering shops, streets and benches.

But following a three-month scheme to tackle the problem, Wellington has been declared a pigeon-free zone.

Contractors were brought in to trap all the birds. Those that could be identified by rings were reunited with their owners, some were sold into the pet trade and those with diseases were destroyed.

Derrick Drew, Wellington Town Council clerk, said: “It has drastically reduced the number of pigeons in the centre, which has been welcomed by the vast majority of people. The programme is now complete and its result has been welcomed by councillors.

“We still want to discourage people from leaving litter and food waste around, though. That is part of the ongoing efforts to keep the town clean.

“Also, councillors have been asking people they have seen to stop feeding the birds as this encourages them to come back.”

Mayor Frank Burns said: “We called in a contractor to humanely remove a number of pigeons.

“I understand that in the region of 500 have been removed. It has been successful and it is helping to keep our town clean.”

The council decided to find a way of tackling the pigeon problem last year and met experts to discuss ways of humanely dealing with the pests.

The policy and resources committee made £2,500 available for contractors to remove the birds.

A meeting of the committee this week welcomed the outcome and decided no more specific action was needed.