Stamford Bridge has been hit by a plague of biblical proportions - but the pestilence is starlings rather than locusts.Thousands of birds are roosting in trees in the centre of the village, along the riverbank.

"We're just plagued with thousands of them," said parish councillor Henry Smith.

"It's inches thick with droppings in the centre of the village. When they come in to roost in the evening, you need an umbrella!"And the birds are not the only unwanted visitors seen in the village recently - several rats have been spotted in the village square.

However, a rat catcher called in by the East Riding of Yorkshire District Council could not find any evidence of an infestation. "The river goes up and down with the rain so it's probably flooded them out of their holes," said Mr Smith. "The rat catcher said he'd put some traps down, but he doesn't think it's a serious problem."

As to the starlings' behaviour, the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust says there is nothing unusual about it, as starlings from northern and eastern Europe usually come to Britain in the winter and tend to roost in towns in the evenings, where it is warmer.

The parish council first started getting complaints about the winter visitors a month ago, and now the owners of the trees - Ashburnholme old people's home - plans to trim the tree tops to discourage the birds.

Paul Mears, senior Environmental Health Officer at the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: "Topping the trees is probably the best way to move them on. As for the rats, because we haven't had a severe winter, the population is higher than it would normally be."

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