The house music track that animal experts have released to deter seagulls
Listen to the music that's been created to keep seagulls at bay
Animal experts in Exeter claim to have come up with a new way to deter seagulls from pestering people while they're enjoying their food outside - and it involves house music.
According to researchers at Exeter University, the solution to keeping the gulls away is to distract them with house music.
But not just any house music, it is a specific song which includes a gull's alarm call which will alert the animals that a predator is nearby - meaning they should stay away.
Dr Madeline Goumus, from the University of Exeter, studies seagulls and their interactions with humans and led the research.
She told ITV News West Country: "We're always wanting to come up with ways to deter gulls without harming them.
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"They are declining in numbers. What people don't realise is they're on the red list of birds of conservation concern in the UK, so we really need to come up with ways of coexisting with them."
Dr Goumas says as well as playing the music, avoiding eye contact with seagulls is a good way to keep them from coming close.
"This track is just one of the things we can do," she said.
"Another way we can deter them is by keeping moving, keeping them on their toes - that blocks their flight path as they try to avoid your eye contact.
"We found that gulls don't like being looked at. There are some really bold gulls who will ignore that but most of the time they're put off by this."