Yachtsmen sailing the waters around the Irish Sea may have even more reason to ward off seagulls dropping bird lime on their decks as operators of Sellafield the atomic re-processing site are planning a cull of toxic seabirds.

The gulls swim around on open ponds which contain plutonium and radioactive waste at Western Europe’s most heavily contaminated industrial site.

Martin Forwood of CORE, Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive  Environment, said the gulls then fly off to ‘poison the wider area.’

A spokeswoman for the site said the culling programme under discussion could include drugged bait.