People are "scared to leave their houses" due to "crazy" seagulls that are terrorising a Merseyside street.
Ryan Price, from Wallasey, was walking down Hampstead Road on Wednesday evening, on his way to the shop, when a gull "launched itself" at him. Ryan said the birds are "attacking everyone who walks down the street" and have been causing chaos for weeks.
He told the ECHO : "There's been a pair nesting on our neighbour's roof. My wife rang me whilst I was in work to say that she thought the baby had fell off the roof and that she'd seen the parents attack six different people walking past.
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"I didn't see the baby so thought I'd risk it walking to the shop, however as soon as I got near, the seagull launched itself at me and wouldn't leave me alone. That's when I got my phone out, I was on Facetime with my wife and she came to the door to see and film me. Its still out there now but there's no sign of it's baby."
Ryan took to social media to share a video of his interaction with the seagull and was inundated with comments from people in the local area who've had run-ins with the birds. One neighbour said "about five or six" seagulls had "dived" at her and described how a dad on the school run was attacked so badly that his head was bleeding and his phone was smashed.
The lady said the seagulls were "a nightmare" and she'd watched people "get the fright their life" as the creatures "swooped down" on them. Another person said they weren't leaving their house for "three to five days" as they were "absolutely terrified" while one neighbour said the road "looks like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's film 'The Birds'".
While many people saw the funny side of Ryan's video, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has warned people should take care around anxious seagulls.
Morwenna Alldis, spokesperson for the RSPB, said: “Personally I love gulls – I like a bird with a bit of personality and gulls have that in spades. They’re bombastic, cheeky, incredibly adaptable, opportunistic, intelligent, and if there was a prize for ‘bird parent of the year’, protective urban gull parents would win. However, our urban gull is often misunderstood. We need to change the way we behave around gulls and try to live harmoniously alongside them.”
The RSPB says one of the main issues people have with gulls is linked to the birds' nesting behaviour.
Morwenna said: “May to July is prime gull nesting season and during this period they can be quite noisy, which is an understandable annoyance if they’ve chosen a roof near you. But keep in mind that this period is short-lived.
“Gulls are also incredibly protective and proactive parents, they have to be as their chicks are quite worrisome. Before they fledge, gull chicks start to explore their rooftop homes, which can lead to them falling from the roof and sometimes even injuring themselves. When a chick is away from the nest, gull mum and dad will swing into action protecting their vulnerable offspring from all possible harm – and that includes us."
She added: “If a gull feels that you’re too close to its youngster, and so a potential threat, it will fly over you at great speed and alarmingly close - rarely making contact the first time. This is a warning – it’s meant to frighten you into backing off. If you encounter an anxious gull parent protecting their young, perhaps in your garden or place of work, the best advice is to walk carrying an unfurled umbrella. Again, this is just a temporary measure until the chick has fledged.”
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