BIRDS are getting stuck in netting and dying “horrific deaths” outside a supermarket.

Pigeons, garden birds and seagulls have all become been tangled in the netting on top of Boots in London Road, Brighton.

Rachel Barton said she often walks past the “distressing sight”.

She said: “Birds are constantly landing on the netting and pecking at it.

“But this results in the birds, like many other poor birds before, getting trapped and dying a horrific death on and inside the netting.

“Lots of people who see this from the pavement are worried because there are birds trapped inside the netting area.

“Even some of the staff at the Co-op are getting stressed about this.”

Rachel said it had been happening for some time and little was being done about it.

She and her friend Matt Bilson said the netting belongs to the Co-op and Matt has sent messages to the store asking it to take action.

She said: “A member of the Co-op staff said that the pest control team come and remove them when people report the dead birds.

“But the birds that are still there are live birds that keep flapping about and they peck away at the netting.

“They then get trapped inside the netting area and clearly die.

“The problem is the netting will always harm birds.

“Shortly after the Co-op sent people over to deal with the problem, another two birds were spotted inside the netting.”

Rachel has also contacted the RSPCA about the issue but it said it did not have the resources to deal with the situation and the netting, whichis there to deter birds, was the Co-op’s responsibility.

Gemma Coleman, from the Co-op customer services, said she was “sorry for any distress this has caused”.

In a reply to Matt’s letter she said members of the facilities team had been out on October 16 to help remove the birds and confirmed one bird was rescued and there were “no issues with the netting”.

She said it was not possible to remove the netting from the store “due to health and hygiene reasons”.

But a Co-op spokesman said it was tackling the problem.

He said: “We are aware of the issue at our London Road store and are currently in the process of updating the nets.

“The new nets that will be fitted are designed to prevent such issues happening in the future.”

“The problem is the netting will always harm birds: Just after that above reply from Co-op, another 2 birds were spotted inside the netting. Another instance is in St James’ Street: when you stand outside the William Hill betting shop (if I remember correctly), and you look up towards Kemp town, on the right side of the street, you can see a baby seagull that has died trapped in netting. The corpse of the bird has never been removed.