Nesting birds call a halt to the company’s latest reveal
Neil Bartholomew, KCOM managing director, and Sammy the Seahawk get into a (play) fight over nesting seagulls and who is top bird in the city of Hull(Image: supplied image)
Nesting birds have thrown a seagull-shaped spanner in the works as KCOM attempted to unveil the latest eye-catching part of its “Real Good” campaign. The Hull-based broadband provider was due to unveil a huge, three-storey, banner on the front of its Hull city centre HQ this week – but had to postpone at the last minute after seagulls were found nesting on the roof of Telephone House.
And, now despite some heated negotiations between Neil Bartholomew, KCOM managing director, and Sammy the Seahawk, who was drafted in from KCOM’s Community Partner Hull Seahawks to help reach an amicable solution, the company has now conceded that the banner will have to be put on ice – for the time being. Neil said: “We were all set to go with our new banner with abseilers primed to unveil the banner telling the world about the UK’s most reliable broadband.
“But when nesting seagulls started divebombing anyone who ventured near the roof at Carr Lane, we knew we had to have an urgent rethink. We thought Sammy the Seahawk might be able to intervene on our behalf, but that idea was for the birds and we’ve had to back down.
“We obviously don’t want to disturb any nesting birds, so we’ll just wing it now and wait until later this year when our feathered friends have flapped off.” According to the RSPB website: “All species of gull are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985.
“It is illegal to prevent birds from accessing their nest and if you need to work on a roof with seagulls nesting, you must wait until the breeding season is over. If you find an active nest, you should wait until the autumn or winter before carrying out any work on the roof.”
Indya Conway, Hull Seahawks social media manager, said: “When KCOM told us they were having trouble with some aggressive seagulls outside their office, there was only one thing we could do – send in the big bird. Sammy the Seahawk takes his responsibilities very seriously, especially when it comes to protecting fellow Hull legends from airborne troublemakers.
“From what we’ve heard, the seagulls were running the site like it was their own home game, diving at workers every chance they got. Thankfully, Sammy arrived ready to restore order and remind everyone that there’s only room for one top bird in this city.
“We’ve loved working with KCOM on this – it’s a brilliant example of two Hull organisations having a bit of fun together and not taking ourselves too seriously. We’re all looking forward to seeing the banner finally go up – assuming the seagulls don’t force it into overtime first.”
Did you know you can make Hull Live a preferred source of Hull news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it straight away by clicking here .