The Grand Hotel, Scarborough: Pictures show seagulls nesting in eaves - leaving historic building covered in guano

Photographer Ernesto Rogata was staying in the Travelodge opposite the historic hotel when he noticed the line of seagulls nests in the eaves.

The birds are making their home in the perfectly shaped eaves leading to huge amounts of droppings - or guano - covering the front of the building.

The Victorian hotel was heavily criticised towards the end of 2021 by guests who had stayed in 'dirty rooms' and complained about the state of the building.

And these pictures would suggest that the hotel is still not in a good state, with much of the frontage covered in bird droppings.

It is currently the peak season for gulls nesting - which runs from May to June - and sees the gulls chick remain in the nest for around five to six weeks.

It is against the law to remove seagulls' nests without a specialist licence.

The Scarborough News has contacted the owners of the building - Britannia Hotels - to see if any cleaning or removal of the nests is planned, but has not yet received a response.

In October, TripAdvisor temporarily suspended reviews of the hotel - which it refers to as a 'lockdown notice' due to the number of people leaving reviews who had not stayed there.

It currently has a rating of two and a half stars on the website, with 795 five star ratings but almost 4,000 ratings of one star. The recent reviews are mixed, with some praising the staff and the rooms, but others branding it the 'Not So Grand Hotel'.

The same month, Scarborough Borough Council said it had written to the owners to request a meeting to discuss the "recent reported problems".