Pigeons have been ruffling the feathers of taxi drivers by leaving their calling card on a Tayside street.
Grant Donald, 57, said pigeons are roosting on the top of buildings at Monifieth High Street beside the taxi rank — and their mess is being brought into cabs on customers’ shoes.
He said: “Every day when we arrive here there is a terrible mess on the pavement below.
“Basically the pigeons seem to roost on the ledges of local buildings and their droppings leave behind a terrible mess on the pavement below.
“It’s very unhygienic — the pigeon poo is everywhere.
“There’s loads of it and people walking along the pavement can’t help walking through it.
“It’s getting brought into our taxis on the soles of people’s shoes.
“It’s also getting taken on people’s feet into the shops in the area, including several food shops.”
Fellow taxi driver Trevor Rooney said that the problem had been going on for some time.
He said: “I’ve complained to our councillors about it in the past, but it continues to be a huge problem.
“The pigeons sit above the street and their guano drops onto the pavement below.
“The council do try to keep on top of the problem by cleaning the street, but there’s always loads of it left even after they have been along to try to clear it away.
“Some other kind of action needs taken to deal with it.
“I would hope that there is something that Angus Council can do.
“The mess is unsightly and it is very unhygienic.
“I’ve had it in my taxi and it ends up on the soles of shoes and gets dragged into the local shops. Some days it’s worse than others, but it’s a problem that’s not going to go away.”
Shona Gibb, co-owner of the Coffee Pot, said retailers had attempted to tackle the problem in the past.
She said: “Around four years ago several of us decided to take the matter into our own hands. People in the block here clubbed together and we paid for spikes to be put on ledges above the shops to stop the pigeons gathering there. It appears to have worked, although the pigeons just seem to have moved a little further along the street.”
A spokesman for Angus Council said: “Removing food sources is the single most important factor in reducing the number of feral pigeons and gulls in town.
“Means of doing this can include reducing food availability or preventing them from accessing roofs or other areas where they could cause disturbance.”
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