‘They’re just crapping everywhere’: Taxi driver terrorised by crows outside his house

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

A taxi driver’s life is being made a misery by fast-food fed crows that poo on his white car.

John Dempsey says up to 200 of the birds roost in trees outside his house in Downham every night.

The pavements outside the 55-year-old’s property are covered in poo from the crows and he has to clean his taxi everyday because the problem is so bad.

Sometimes it looks like it’s snowing because of the amount of bird poo covering the street, the taxi driver said.

Mr Dempsey said: “They’re just crapping everywhere. The road is covered in crap. It looks like it has snowed – there’s that much.

“I have a white taxi and I have to clean it everyday because there’s so much crap. Early in the morning there can be from 100 to 200 in the trees and up to 60 during the daytime.”

Mr Dempsey, who has lived on Old Bromley Road for 20 years, says the problem got worse when a popular fast-food restaurant opened nearby.

He says customers feed the birds chips, which has led the population of birds on the street to balloon.

Despite claiming he has reported the problem to Lewisham council multiple times over the years, Mr Dempsey says nothing has ever been done to tackle the nuisance birds.

The lack of action has led him to consider taking the matter into his own hands and hiring a bird of prey to kill the crows.

He said: “I’ve looked into killing them but there’s no way you can kill them legally. I’ve even thought about getting a falcon but they’re not cheap.

“The trees need crowning and that should not make it a problem for the next five to six years. Ideally I want the trees cut down, but they’re never going to do that.”

Mr Dempsey added: “I’ve contacted Lewisham again and they always say they will pass it on to the relevant department, but that’s all we get. I’m not hopeful anything will get done.”

Oana Olaru, councillor for Downham, said the problem had been raised with her in December last year while canvassing in the area.

Cllr Olaru said she had raised the issue with council staff, who have since inspected the trees. Workers intend to trim them within six months, she added.

A Lewisham council spokesman said: “While we are proud to champion the importance of trees and wildlife in the borough, we recognise the need to ensure these are managed responsibly in line with the needs of our residents.

“We are aware of issues caused by crows on this road and will be trimming back the branches of some of the trees as part of our regular pruning programme across the borough.”

Pictured top: John Dempsey’s life is being made a misery by crows that roost in trees outside his house (Picture: Robert Firth)