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Angry birds : Vicious seagulls scare off posties
- Published_at:2013-07-06
- Category:News & Politics
- Channel:Caroline Amy J.
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- description: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Latest-News/101615183364879 https://twitter.com/__LatestNews__ BRITAIN is in the grips of a new gull war — as petrified holidaymakers are blitzed by kamikaze birds determined to swipe their food. Victims have been hospitalised, children left with cut lips and small dogs have even DIED following the attacks. Virtual no-go areas have been established in South Shields and Belfast following aerial attacks. In Perranporth, Cornwall, the Royal Mail have even BANNED deliveries on a seaside cul-de-sac after posties were dive-bombed. In Fleetwood, Lancs, Lesley McLaughlin, 69, was rushed to A&E with a head wound after she was swooped on by gulls. Fans at last weekend's Glastonbury festival faced a bigger swarm than ever — with birds snatching discarded food throughout the do. But the frontline of the battle between humans and gulls is the resort of Newquay in Cornwall. There, greedy seagulls hunt in packs high above the town's take-aways, bars and restaurants, swooping in to rip food from the hands of unsuspecting tourists. The bombardment has become so bad that Bank Street has been dubbed Seagull Alley as a new, smarter breed of gull is winning the battle for air supremacy. Scientist Peter Rock says: "The gulls in Cornwall are highly intelligent. They travel in gangs and adopt a sort of pincer movement. "One feigns an attack so the target pulls their pasty out of the way while number-two gulls sneak in from behind and grab it." Joe Cowell, 16, who travelled to Newquay from Bristol with a group of friends, was shocked when a seagull "sunk its claws" into a pizza they were eating on a bench. "Within seconds we were mobbed — there were dozens of them. It was carnage and by the end of it half the pizza was missing. It was pretty scary," he said. Joe's friend James Heron, 16, had a pasty torn from his hand in Bank Street. "It fell to the floor and the whole pack came down and scoffed the lot in seconds," James added. The council has put up signs urging visitors not to feed the birds, while pubs and cafes display notices warning "Beware of the gulls". Even hardened locals have been taken aback by the ferocity of the attacks this summer. In the past week alone, multiple injuries have been reported, with six people attacked in just two minutes and children regularly reduced to tears as their ice creams are snatched. Jess Parkin, 44, owner of tobacconists Johnny's on Seagull Alley, said: "I phoned the council only yesterday about this and as I was chatting, I saw two seagull attacks outside the shop." A gull left surf shop worker Bill Mander with a bloody lip when it snatched a baguette from him. Cornwall Council insist the gulls are legally protected creatures and therefore cannot be culled. They have tried various schemes to curb the menace over the years. They are not alone. In Bristol, the city council is using artificial eggs to trick gulls into thinking they are rearing young, which makes them less aggressive. Wildlife experts in Aberdeen have even tried feeding them contraceptives. But nothing seems to work. Bristol-based teacher and scientist Mr Rock adds: "All pest control does is move the problem from place to place — the solution will only come through science."
| ranked in date | views | likes | Comments | ranked in country (#position) |
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| 2013-07-23 | 1,807 | 1 | 0 |
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