HILLINGDON Hospital has employed a hawk trainer to scare off roosting pigeons thought to be a danger to public health.

Andy Dobbs, a specialist bird trainer based in Hayes, claims to have made the site a near pigeon-free zone by weekly visits with his well-trained Harris Hawks, Bomber and Flo.

They patrol the skies for a couple of hours at a time, disrupting any pigeon nesting areas to deter the birds from roosting there in the future.

Mr Dobbs, of Apeer Bird and Pest Control Ltd, said: “A couple of years ago when we started there were 80-90 pigeons roosting on the buildings every night.

“Thanks to these hawks, we’ve almost made it a pigeon free zone, with only one or two settling in the area.”

Bomber, a five-year-old male, and Flo, a six-year-old female, work together to give the pigeons a scare, but are trained not to attack them.

A spokeman for Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said if pigeons were allowed to roost in excessive numbers, it could damage the buildings or lead to public health problems.

Pigeons have been known to carry diseases such as salmonella and chiamdiosis, a flu-like virus, and psittacosis, similar to pneumonia.

Mr Dobbs, who has worked with birds of prey for pest control purposes for about a decade, said they provided an effective and less costly solution than the alternatives.

“We know that pigeons are naturally attracted to tall buildings and can get quite established,” he said.

“Using hawks to control them is a more natural method, as it is simply makes a site less attractive to pigeons."