A woman has been fined £500 for breaching a bird-feeding ban.

Flocks of gulls and pigeons brought noise, mess and nuisance to residents after a neighbour fed the birds excessively over two years.

Following complaints from her neighbours, Maureen Francis from Trowbridge, was issued with a community protection notice and an order to stop leaving out so much food.

She was also asked to put out a single bird feeder instead.

Mrs Francis ignored the notice and was prosecuted by Wiltshire Council.

She was convicted in her absence at Salisbury magistrates of breaching a community notice, and fined £500 with £1,600 costs.

The notice is issued to prevent behaviour that has a negative impact on the local community's quality of life.

Jerry Wickham, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for public protection, said: “Our officers made numerous attempts to engage with Mrs Francis to try and resolve this problem.

“We were reluctant to take legal action but for the sake of the neighbours, prosecution was the only option.”