Seagull stuck on the roof of HSBC in Worcester city centre

The bird has been trapped on top of the HSBC building in Broad Street since Tuesday night (May 3).

An RSPCA inspector has been out to the seagull but neither they nor HSBC staff were able to gain access to the roof of the building.

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service confirmed they received a call about the trapped bird yesterday (May 4) and referred it to the RSPCA.

Pamela Booker, branch secretary of the Worcester and Mid-Worcestershire branch of the RSPCA, said seagulls and pigeons getting trapped in netting is, "unfortunately, not a rare thing".

"It's something we're quite aware of - it happens on a very regular basis," she said.

The RSPCA have been unable to access the roof of the building

"There's a lot of this netting in Worcester and I don't really know why. They also get trapped in buildings because landlords don't keep up with repairs - they can get in but they can't get back out.

"Then it falls to the beleaguered RSCPA to come and rescue the bird."

Animal activist Margaret Layland, a former trustee at Worcester’s RSPCA branch and a former city councillor, said she doesn’t like the netting that is on buildings throughout the city centre but that it is legal.

“When the council agreed to allow the netting they said it must be put up by an authorised installer and be inspected regularly,” she said. “When it becomes loose, that’s when birds get stuck in it.

“People want to deter the gulls and some councillors have talked about having a cull but I thought it worked really well when the council sent someone up to replace the gulls’ eggs with artificial ones. The numbers were coming down.

“They’re only really a problem at this time of year because it’s nesting season.”

She added: “It's good to know that so many people are concerned about the bird. Whatever people think of gulls, nothing deserves a slow, lingering death.”