Town invaded by 'apocalyptic' swarm of seagulls despite being 30 miles from the sea

Locals said they have 'never seen anything like it' after their town was invaded by an 'apocalyptic' swarm of seagulls despite being 30 miles from the nearest coast.

'Thousands' of the birds have flocked to a landfill site in Accrington, Lancs Live reports. Nearby residents have likened to the scenes to those in Alfred Hitchcok's 1963 horror movie The Birds as up to 3,000 seagulls have been spotted flying overhead.

They said their houses, cars and gardens have been bombarded by bird poo - and that they are worried the gulls are 'here to stay'. Locals said they arrive first thing in the morning and stay till late at night - with some even fearing their presence is devaluing the value of properties in the area.

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Gary Hough, 62, said: "There must have been 3,000 seagulls above my house on Wednesday this week. I've never seen anything like it. The gulls are here about 7am and head towards the tip and they come in dribs and drabs but start to congregate.

"Then from 8am onwards, that's when the majority of them come and it's just constant until around 9.30pm." Gary and partner Cheryl Gouldstone, 59, have lived in their £200,000 semi for eight years, but fear the plague of birds might devalue properties in the area.

They say birds have always been attracted to the site, but since last October it has got steadily worse and the issue has been turbo-charged since April. Operator Suez have implemented mitigation measures, such as setting of loud noises to scare the birds.

But Gary says all that does is scatter the birds overhead and cause them to drop their mess on cars, washing and driveways. He added: "It started to