BURY town centre hairdresser Mena Fry has got the bird with council bosses and pigeon lovers over droppings deposited outside her shop.

Street pigeons have taken up roost above the Haymarket Street salon Tucci, after publicans next door at The Knowsley erected spikes to keep them away.

Since then, flags outside the shop have been constantly stained with bird muck, which Mrs Fry described as a "health hazard".

She demanded weekly clean-ups on the busy street from the council, but said they told her this would not be possible.

Mrs Fry said: "To ask them to clean it up once a week is not too much if you ask me, especially when they know that this is a problem area.

"If my own shop is dirty then I will clean it, but there is no way I should be cleaning those flags outside." Mrs Fry said that she was advised to install spikes on her own guttering to ward off the pigeons, which feed in Kay Gardens.

"I don't see why I should pay a few hundred pounds to put spikes up. All that is going to do is move the problem along to the next shop," she said.

"There aren't even signs up in Kay Gardens telling people not to feed the pigeons.

"A lot of people who feed the pigeons might think it is wonderful, but don't realise the damage they are doing."

Philip Allen, Bury Council's director of competitive services, said that the possibility of clean-ups would be investigated further.

He said: "If this spot is going to be a problem all the time then we'll have to look at the different options.

"We may have to deal with it on request or on a regular basis. We will monitor the situation to see what sort of response is required."

Environmental health manager Bill Rees said signs could be erected, but this would require consultation.

He said: "There are mixed public feelings about the feeding of pigeons.

"We take a middle of the road approach about it. Some people feel they have a right to feed the pigeons, while others who are more directly affected may feel differently."