Shoppers and walkers in a town are being forced to run away from seagulls who are attacking people. The attacks are so frequent that people are carrying umbrellas as protection.
The attacks are taking place in Rhuddlan, Denbighshire, in North Wales, near car parks between Parliament Street and Princes Road. They are happening because two birds have left their nests and their protective parents see all passersby as a potential threat, North Wales Live reports.
This week an older lady posted online thanks to King’s Head staff after she was escorted to her car under a pub umbrella. Finding herself under bombardment from two gulls, and unsteady on her feet, she was glad of the help.
“Two seagulls were on the roof watching their baby amongst the cars,” she wrote. “Every time I moved, they swooped down on me.”
Other victims include two Denbighshire Council street cleansing operatives who found themselves under fire as they cleared litter. Mark Vernon and Steve Scott survived their encounter before coming to the rescue of a salon therapist stranded in her car as she tried to reach work.
Grabbing yard brushes and litter-pickers from their van, they formed a protective guard as they escorted the woman to her salon. They were later hailed public-spirited angels“angels” for coming to her aid.
Mark, 55, from St Asaph, said: “Steve was checking the bins while I searched the car park for litter. Suddenly I felt claws on my head. It was like a stealth attack from behind – I didn’t see or hear it coming.
“The gull didn’t draw blood but I’ve been told others have not been so lucky. A builder nearby told me I was the third person they’d attacked that morning – they’re vicious little buggers!
“Steve and I saw a woman in her car and realised she might get attacked too. So we got our brushes and held them up to ward off attacks as we walked her to work. They daren't come near us.”
The pair were later praised by the woman’s employer, local councillor Jackie Burnham, who runs Rejuva Skin & Wellness Solutions next to the King’s Head in Rhuddlan.
On Thursday she raised the gulls’ reign of terror at a town council meeting. But as nesting gulls are protected by law, solutions are thought unlikely.
“It’s not a problem on the High Street, probably because there’s too much traffic,” said Jackie. “But where I live people walking their dogs are being attacked.
“It tends to happen most summers. Gulls are always an issue for people living near the coast, as so many of them seem to think houses are cliffs.”
Mark said he and Steve were happy to help. As the regular street cleaning team for Rhuddlan and Dyserth, they see litter-picking as only one element of their duties.
“We feel part of the community and want to help people in any way we can,” he said. “We enjoy our work and we were more than happy to escort this young lady to her place of work.”
In an attempt to warn residents, Jackie mocked up a Facebook picture of a woman holding up an umbrella to ward off marauding gulls. Another warning was painted on a commercial bin outside the King’s Head pub to alert customers about to alight from their cars.
