Jeremy Vine gets involved in Biggleswade pigeon cull debate on his Channel 5 show

The debate on a potential pigeon cull rages on - with Jeremy Vine hosting a phone-in on the issue on his Channel 5 programme.

The presenter wondered what could be done about the problem of pigeon infestations, joking "We could try to lure them to France or something, I don't know. Or they talked in the past about contraception but I don't know how far they are with that."

Samantha Crick of York Stringfoot Pigeon Rescue appeared on the show this morning (February 25) to offer up some possible suggestions, saying culling was 'ineffective'.

She pointed out that killing just some of the pigeons would lead to increased food for the rest - which could lead to an increase in population rather than a reduction.

And she said it was cruel, adding: "If you are killing adults for example, nestlings can be left to starve to death. Rotting corpses can be left on buildings, which can be a biohazard issue."

She added that it was 'not possible' to enforce a feeding ban, but instead suggested setting up designated feeding areas and pigeons roosts to draw the birds away from areas where they weren't wanted.

Jeremy Vine joked: "Word might get around, you'd get pigeons from all over."

The debate also continued over Twitter - but not everyone was sympathetic.

User 'Joe Bloggs Jnr' commented "#JeremyVine getting the whole country involved in local community problems.... Let the people of Biggleswade deal with their own issues."

And Alberto Balsam added: "I switch over for a minute and another moron wants to save all sorts of crap. Pigeons should be culled. Rats should be culled. Pests have always been culled."