People thinking of flocking to this beautiful seaside town might want to heed a warning from locals about some noisy year-round residents.
Videos shared on social media by those living in Folkestone, Kent, have highlighted an ongoing issue with some noise that might get visitors in a flap.
Seagulls who roost in the popular resort apparently enjoy “squawking” from early as 5am in the summer months due to the longer daylight hours.
Lynn Barret-Smith shared a video on Facebook on the Folkestone Residents Group highlighting the noise pollution problem visiting city-dwellers might not be used to.
Mrs Barrett-Smith said she is able to “tune the noise out after living here all my life” but said tourists might find it hard to ignore.
Alongside the video she wrote: “This gives you an idea of what living by the seaside is like, from spring through to autumn, from 5am to 10am every single morning.”
She told Kent Online: “I had friends stay over one weekend… they said never again!” she explained.
“They came to visit from Wales and said they had no idea how we put up with the noise on a daily basis. They could not sleep.
“I have lived in this house for 25 years so I don’t even notice it anymore.”
According to the RSPB, all species of gull are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985.
This makes it illegal to intentionally or, in Scotland and Northern Ireland, recklessly injure or kill any gull or damage or destroy an active nest or its contents.
Despite the noisy birdlife Folkestone was recently named one of the best places to live by the sea by the Sunday Times and the town is set to enjoy investment soon in the shape of a multi-million-pound shoreline development.
However, this week pollution alerts were issued across five Kentish beaches, including Folkestone, as Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) were discharged into the sea.
The releases took place in response to recent heavy rainfall to minimise the risks of flood water damage.
