Plucky pigeons are defying attempts to scare them away from Shipley town centre.

Traders say they cause a mess and even dive-bomb shoppers, despite the presence of a life-like plastic owl which is meant to deter them.

Now experts are calling on shoppers to stop feeding the birds in a bid to keep them at bay.

The 20in-tall plastic owl - perched above Woolworth's in the Market Square - has been recruited by Shipley town centre management.

The move marks the beginning of a campaign by town centre management following complaints about the mess caused by the pigeons and the near misses as they fly low along the pedestrian area.

Signs will soon be going up asking people to refrain from feeding the pigeons and explanatory leaflets will also be available to the public.

Town Centre Manager Bob Parker is keen to get the message across to people that the romantic images of pigeons often hides the fact that these birds are a pest and are known to carry diseases harmful to humans.

He said they were wild birds and the extra feeding they received in the town centre only caused their numbers to increase, creating even more of a problem. The excess food thrown down for the pigeons was also an attraction to rats.

The possibility of setting up designated feeding areas out of the town centre was being considered, he added.

The scheme follows similar efforts in Bradford and Keighley, where plastic owls have also been employed in the fight against the pests.

Coun Tony Miller (Lab, Shipley East), chairman of the Shipley Town Centre Steering Group and Bradford's Lord Mayor, said it was important that the public fully understood the problems that large numbers of pigeons could bring.

He said: "People should not forget that these pigeons are wild birds and do not require feeding. This feeding only leads to the pigeon population increasing to higher levels than their natural habitat can sustain.

"There is a real risk to health, particularly of children, which increases with the growing numbers of these birds and the mess they cause on buildings in unsightly and expensive to remove.

"The Council is trying to sensitively discourage the presence of pigeons in the town centre and encourage them back into he wild by making people aware of the problems."

The plastic owl brought a mixed reaction from traders in Market Square.

Lisa Fox, who works at Thurston's, said: "The pigeons are definitely a nuisance - they come into the shop and try to get onto the food. Any moves to get rid of them would be welcome."

Sharon Feather, manageress of Burney's, said: "They always come into the shop looking for crumbs, but I don't think a plastic owl will do much to deter them. We need something down this end of the square."

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the RSPB said the only way to get rid of pigeons was to stop feeding them.

"There are other methods, such as putting up wire mesh on windows, or wire and gel on windowsills . But if they haven't got any food, they won't come.

"Westminster City Council in London has now introduced local by-laws to stop people feeding pigeons and have set up a pigeon hotline to give advice about the birds."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.