Troublesome pigeons which have been causing a messy problem at a warehouse have been given the heave-ho by three of their more fearsome cousins.

The birds have been causing a problem at Swale Building Supplies (SBS) in Whiteway Road, Queenborough, for several months.

The owners called on the services of the Island branch of Norfolk-based NBC Bird and Pest Solutions which set to work on Monday.

The company use birds of prey – two harrier hawks and a peregrine falcon – which are flown around buildings where wild birds have settled and become a nuisance. The birds are brought in every day for five days.

After that they are brought back once a week and imitation hawks placed in the building to make pigeons think they are in danger from birds of prey which have moved in.

This is the first time Dave Green, area manager of the branch in Minster, has used birds of prey on the Island.

He said: “People don’t know how much of a problem pigeons are, they can produce huge amounts of dropping and carry a number of diseases. Using birds of prey makes pigeons thing they are in danger and they move off.”