WAR has been declared on Blackburn's wild pigeons - but this is one bird lover who will always be their friend.

Little Asal Savitri has devoted herself to feeding the town's feathered flocks for the last 25 years.

And she was horrified by council plans to use traps and guns to wipe them out, after it was revealed that they carry more diseases than rats.

Asal sets out from her home on Whitehead Street early every morning with bags loaded with bread and bird food and a pocket full of chocolates for her human friends.

She travels around the town centre feeding the birds before returning home - where a group of expectant birds is usually waiting for her.

She said: "I have been doing this for 25 years. The birds are my friends and I don't want anything to happen to them."

Direct action against the pigeons, which gather in the cathedral grounds, close to the town hall and around the town centre's pedestrianised areas, follows years of failed attempts to tackle the problem.

The trapping and shooting will be backed by a poster and leaflet campaign to educate people about the health dangers.

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