Pigeons posing problems at Bingley railway station

Train operator Northern said it is "locked in a long-running battle" with the birds at stations including Bingley, Castleford and Manchester Victoria.

The pigeons have been nesting at the stations and creating problems with their "hazardous and corrosive droppings", according to Northern.

People have been seen feeding the birds at the stations in recent months and this has caused more to flock there. 

Northern is now urging people to stop feeding the pigeons and make sure they do not leave any unwanted food lying around on the platforms.

The company has trialled a number of measures to keep the birds away and it installed plastic owls at Morpeth station in Northumberland as part of a trial last year.

A view of Bingley Railway Station (Image: Chris Hester: T&A Camera Club)

Pre-recorded hawk noises were also played out of speakers at Driffield station in East Yorkshire and the roof was smeared with fire gel, which appears to the pigeons as ultraviolet light and tricks them into thinking the surface is too hot to land on. 

But Northern was forced to return to the drawing board as the brazen birds kept flocking to both stations and nesting.

According to Northern, spikes and netting have proved to be more effective in recent years - they prevent the pigeons from perching and nesting in certain areas, but do not harm them.

However, these measures have not solved the pest problem as some of the birds have moved on to other parts of the stations.

Pgeons have been causing problems at several railway stations (Image: Northern) Matt Rice, Northern's chief operating officer, said: "We know the vast majority of our customers do not want to be bothered by pigeons at our stations, so we have looked into several humane ways of keeping these stubborn birds away.

"We're urging customers to help us deal with this pest problem by making sure they don't feed any of the pigeons or leave food lying around."

According to the RSPCA, the most humane and effective way to discourage pigeons from visiting a particular place is to reduce their access to food.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the north of England. 

In total, more than 100 million passenger journeys are made on Northern's network each year.

The company employs more than 7,000 people across the length and breadth of its network.