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Mr Timms said even if all the rubbish was collected, the pest issue would still linger, with the rodents likely to start nesting in residents' homes or cars.

"Remove potential nesting sites by keeping yards and gardens clean and tidy, and cut back overgrown areas," they added.

The UK is known for its huge colonies of seabirds nesting on cliffs - but populations are plummeting amid a host of pressures, from climate change to a lack of food.

Any destruction to these nesting areas impacts on these breeding patterns.

In the early 1970s there were fewer than 30 nesting pairs in the entire state of California, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.