If you’ve ever sat waiting for a delayed train at Bolton railway station, you may have wondered why you could hear a high-pitched noise.

If you’ve just grabbed a coffee from WHSmith and sat down on platform 3 to go to Manchester, you may have thought you were hearing things.

A high-pitched noise can be heard ringing out around the platform, with no obvious source for unsuspecting passengers.

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However, railway bosses have revealed where the noise is coming from.

The noise is designed to simulate the sound of a predatory hawk, to scare away pigeons.

It’s one of many pigeon deterrent measures in Bolton station, with netting installed as part of a major overhaul in 2020.

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Some stations have had plastic owls placed around the area to scare off pigeons, and special gel has been placed on ledges in some to trick pigeons into thinking the surface is too hot to land on.

A spokesperson for Northern said: “We want to make sure our stations are a ‘no-go’ area for pigeons and have deployed several tactics across our network to make them fly the coop in a way that is humane and harmless.

“We also clean our stations regularly and we take the impact the mess has on our communities and the environment very seriously.”

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.