Dozens of gulls have been descending on a Dundee street after rubbish from overflowing bins left a “disgraceful” mess.
Brian Wallace, who works as a personal trainer and kickboxing coach, says the issue is getting “out of hand” on Daniel Street, near his workplace in the West End.
He claims gulls have been scaring children who attend his classes at the nearby Skyaxe Combat and Fitness Centre.
When The Courier visited the area on Sunday evening, more than 40 gulls had gathered on the street to pick through the waste.
Brian told The Courier: “Around two months ago, a lot of rubbish was getting dumped at either side of the bins.
Kids ‘scared of gulls’ as rubbish overflows on Dundee street
“The council were great and collected it, but in the last two weeks or so they haven’t.
“We take the kids from our classes around the blocks for runs, but they don’t want to go because of the gulls.
“Some of the kids are really scared of them.
“We’ve tried everything and it’s getting beyond a joke – the bins are disgraceful.
“It’s putting people off coming to the gym too, they struggle to get parked up because of all the mess.
“Things like this shouldn’t be happening in Dundee – I think if it was in Broughty Ferry or Perth Road, the mess would be cleared up in days.”
Brian says over the last few weeks he has attempted to clear the mess himself but stopped as it is not his responsibility.
He also feels an overgrown bush near the bins is encouraging more people to dump rubbish.
He added: “This last wee while it’s got out of hand – it’s like fly-tipping.
“I’ve seen people stop and throw things out of their cars and I think it mostly is happening at night time.
“Near the bins, there is an overgrown bush that is about 6ft high and litter collects in there too.
‘People open bags and throw them in there’
“People open bags and throw them in there – leaving the rubbish everywhere.
“We’ve asked the council to cut it down, but they haven’t.”
Residents in other parts of Dundee have reported similar issues with overflowing Eurobins in recent weeks, including on Marryat Terrace, near the football stadiums – where gulls have also been spotted gathering.
Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “A crew has visited the location in order to remove the materials.”
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