French call in drones as the war on seagulls reaches new heights

Local fisherman in Trouville-sur-Mer say the gulls regularly dive bomb them on their trawlers but they can do nothing as the gulls have been a protected species since 2009 (Stock image)

Henry Samuel
© Telegraph Media Group Limited

The Normandy resort of Trouville-sur-Mer has tested an "anti-seagull" drone to keep the increasingly aggressive, "carnivorous" birds at bay in what the seaside town claims is a world first.

With seagull psychosis at its peak in Ireland and the UK after a spate of grisly attacks on pets - and at least one human - towns along the coast of Normandy, northern France, are also at a loss at how to keep the birds in check.