The boss of an arts centre in Tavistock is pleading with well-meaning bird lovers to stop feeding the geese outside her building.

Angela Court, the manager of Tavistock Wharf, is worried the food and nesting material people are leaving outside her building poses a heath hazard.

She stresses she is a wildlife lover and says she and the staff have informally ‘adopted’ the two birds – they have even named them Ronnie and Reggie after the notorious London gangsters.

But she says that the more people encourage the birds by leaving straw, food and drink alongside the kitchen and next to her bins, the more likely it is that rats will be attracted. Tavistock Wharf is also next to the Meadowlands Leisure Centre which also has bins and a cafe.

Angela’s rat catcher has already said there is more rat activity and as a cafe owner, she is also worried at not meeting her environmental health responsibilities if the vermin and health and hygiene levels worsen.

Angela said: “I have nothing against the geese, they’re loved by a lot of people, including me and my staff. They hang around our building and have made it their home. But they really don’t need feeding or having straw put down for nesting. They eat grass, which is plentiful in the Meadows and drink fresh water which they get from the canal.

“The more they’re encouraged to feed next to our building, the more they poop and the more food that’s left here the more the rats gather.

“As MD of my company I have a duty of care to both the public and my staff and as such I have asked my pest control company to assess the situation and their findings show an increase in activity of the rodent population.

“Though we are always cleaning away the poop, the accumulation of all this could become a health hazard.”