RAIL bosses have resorted to desperate measures in an attempt to stop pigeons pooing all over a railway station – broadcasting hawk calls.

Bosses at train operator Northern have installed loudspeakers at Driffield Station – and the plan is to broadcast ‘hawk sounds’ from them every half hour between 10am and 4pm daily.

Northern says Driffield has become a pigeon ‘poo hotspot’.

But it hopes to force the birds to take flight with its new, trial deterrent.

It claims research has shown that broadcasting hawk calls over loudspeakers ‘has been effective in removing pigeons from private residences’.

So now it is trying the technique at Driffield.

It is one of a range of measures the rail operator is trying out at stations across the north east.

Plastic owls have been placed on the station roof at Morpeth Station in an attempt to scare pigeons away.

And at other stations, railway bosses have spread a special gel on ledges and roof trusses where pigeons like to perch.

The speial ‘fire’ gel appears to pigeons like ultraviolet light, and is intended to fool them into thinking surfaces are too hot for them to land on.

Northern regional director Kerry Peters said: "We want to make sure our stations are a ‘no-go’ area for pigeons and make them fly the coop in a way that is humane and harmless.

“We clean all our stations regularly and we take the impact the mess has on our communities and the environment very seriously.”

The trials will remain in place until the end of November and if successful could be rolled out across the Northern network.