Keeping A Virgil On Clean Windows, Fires, Shooting Seagulls & Wallabys

Window Cleaner, Virgil Turner shoots seagulls & catches wallaby's in his spare time!

B&B owner's plea to control seagulls - A concerned Lyme Regis B&B owner has renewed her calls to control the ‘vicious’ seagulls plaguing the town. Vicky Norman, of The Red House B&B in Sidmouth Road, featured in the Lyme Regis News last year because her guests have had their holidays spoilt by the birds threatening and swooping. Her suggestion was to bring in birds of prey to ward off the gulls in a humane way. Mrs Norman, who has run her B&B for 17 years, has now called on Lyme Regis Town Council to take action before a ‘mass attack’ happens.

Speaking at a council meeting on Wednesday, she claimed the council has been aware of the problem for many years but not considered it ‘worth doing anything about’, while West Dorset District Council is ‘seemingly unable’ to take responsibility. She said: “I have decided to try and take on this problem for the traders who have no one, seemingly, who wants to help them.” Mrs Norman visited food outlets on the seafront and, with a few exceptions, all of them asked for help. “The birds are becoming ever more vicious and it will end with children and adults receiving horrific injuries if a mass attack occurs,” she said. “If one gull attacked a child there would be a feeding frenzy by the others and there could be serious injury inflicted.”

Mrs Norman said some traders have indicated they might be willing to contribute to the flying of birds of prey on the beach during the busy months. She said: “Because these wretched birds are protected we cannot cull, but if it is possible that would be the best answer and the flying of harris hawks and other large raptors will frighten the gulls and drive them away.” Mrs Norman claimed that notices put up by the district council asking people not to feed the gulls are ignored. “A byelaw might be a good idea and then the notices could be a little less polite,” she said.

Town mayor Sally Holman said local fireman and window cleaner Virgil Turner (pictured) used to be authorised to shoot the birds. “But the response from the public was this was cruel, unnecessary, and it had to be stopped because of the abuse he received,” she said. The mayor said the council has received contradictory statements as to whether flying raptors are a good solution. The council is now seeking advice from officers at West Dorset District Council, she added. Lyme’s district councillor Daryl Turner said it is not a statutory duty for the authority to take any action to control gulls. He said solutions included removing nests, egg oiling, and bird scarers.

'Garden wallaby' caught in Lyme Regis town centre: A wallaby, thought to be the same animal seen in a woman's Dorset garden earlier in the week, has been caught. Off-duty firefighter Virgil Turner rugby-tackled the marsupial to the ground in Lyme Regis town centre. Jan Cooper had filmed a wallaby hopping around her garden in Blue Waters Drive, Lyme Regis, on Tuesday morning, before it escaped over her fence. Mr Turner said the wallaby, which has been taken to an animal park in Exminster, Devon, "kicked a bit". The 45-year-old added: "My friend called me and he's a trickster so I thought it was a wind up. But I could hear he was serious. "When I got there the wallaby was cornered by a couple of council workers and a local woman - but it could have got away still. "It had already had a couple of near misses with cars and I didn't want a serious car accident on my hands. "I must admit I was wary because I'd heard they can give quite a kick and can be very strong. "But I used to play a bit of rugby so I just rugby tackled it - I grabbed its legs and tail and we managed to get a blanket over it which subdued it and then get it into a cage. "I got a few scrapes and scratches from the concrete but the wallaby was fine - it was very calm really. "It kicked a bit but totally calmed down when the blanket went on."

Eyewitness John King, who praised Mr Turner, said: "The wallaby had already caused a few problems hopping across roads in the town. "It was bizarre really - not something you see every day in Lyme Regis." The RSPCA, which had told the public not to approach the animal, was also called to the scene to help. Mrs Cooper, who filmed the animal at her home on Tuesday, said: "I am just so happy it has been found safe. "I've been told it has been taken to a sanctuary where there are another 14 wallabies so it should have a good time." It is unclear where the animal came from but the RSPCA said a number of them live wild in the UK. A spokeswoman said there had not been any reports of escaped animals in the area.

Mr Beer has come forward to claim West Dorset’s fugitive wallaby as his adopted pet – called Wally. The runaway was captured when the town’s fire chief Virgil Turner rugby tackled it with the help of two West Dorset District Council street cleaners. Until now it has been a mystery where the animal came from, but this week a Chard resident has come forward. Chris Beer, 66, said he instantly recognised Wally when the story of him bouncing around a Lyme Regis garden, featured in last week’s Echo, went national. Mr Beer said: “I knew straight away it was him.” He said he had Wally for four months after he believed it escaped from Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park about 18 months ago. He added: “We sort of adopted him. We had a great big enclosure in Winsham where it lived. I could get within about two or three feet of him. “There was no need to feed him, he was quite capable of surviving in the wild. “They will live happily out in the wild. There are feral populations in about three or four places in the UK." But Mr Beer, a retired development engineer, is unhappy that Wally has been captured.