News came through late yesterday morning that the controversial Christine Foreman, the Birdwoman of Shirley, had her home on Wickham Road seized by bailiffs, after she had failed to pay her court fees following her sentencing at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Attitudes towards feral pigeons have changed in recent years; feeding pigeons in Trafalgar Square has been discouraged for more than a decade

The 55-year-old woman had been served an ASBO last October, after her prolonged feeding of pigeons had attracted a large flock of pigeons to her house, causing mess and nuisance, horrifying many neighbours far more than Alfred Hitchcock’s Birds ever did.

When she broke the order, she was ordered back to court last month, where the magistrate opted to give her 150 hours of community service rather than a jail term.

But Foreman was also ordered to pay the court’s costs, and it appears she failed to do this. About a dozen police officers attended the scene.

Neighbours on the suburban road were relieved that the whole episode may now be over. One told Inside Croydon, “She’s been feeding the birds for five years, and there were as many as 400 pigeons roosting on the roof of her house.

“They create a massive amount of mess, which meant that along this road, most people have been unable to use their gardens.The noise, the dirt, the dust and the swarms of flies, especially in the hot weather, have affected all our lives,” the resident said.

“She was asked nicely, and we’d gone through all the procedures, but she just could not see the distress her actions were causing her human neighbours. She was just selfish and, it seemed, a little odd. Something should have been done long ago.

“It all took a lot of time, saw a lot of people giving statements to the police, and several court appearances. And all she needed to do was to stop feeding those birds, but she just carried on.

“Hopefully, this is an end to the whole affair.”

• You can comment on any of the stories posted on this site (although we discourage anonymous comments), or you can write your own article, suggest a subject for an article, or even send us an email: insidecroydon@btinternet.com

Related articles

• Magistrates opt not to cage the Birdwoman of Shirley (insidecroydon.com)
• The Birdwoman of Shirley is being dragged back to court this week (insidecroydon.wordpress.com)
• All Shirley Life is to be found in online magazine (insidecroydon.wordpress.com)