Aggressive seagulls are terrorising people in a seaside street in Porthcawl

A flock of aggressive seagulls have been spotted dive-bombing innocent people passing by and even attacking animals on the street.

Seagulls are nothing new for the seaside town of Porthcawl but two weeks ago a family of aggressive gulls moved into Mary Street and set up their nests on top of a hotel.

It’s claimed the gang of birds, including two parents and their “diva” chick, have been harassing residents ever since – with one hotel worker claiming he saw one of the gulls attack a dog.

Peter Williams, who was caught on video being attacked by the gulls, said he’s more cautious after the attack which left his reading glasses in pieces when one of the gulls pinched them from his head.

Mr Williams, who lives in Mary Street, said: “It might seem comical but it’s quite frightening when you don’t know they are going to attack you.

“I was walking down Mary Street and apparently there was a chick nearby. Out of the blue three or four came out of the sky and they were really going for me.

“If there was anyone older than me or young they could have run out into the road and got knocked down.

“I am more cautious about walking down the street now and other residents as well. Time will tell if they will do it again.”

Vicki Rova, who works at Porthcawl Insurance Limited, said she noticed three gulls move into the street last week and described two older seagulls as “very protective” over their young.

Speaking of the chick Ms Rova said: “He arrived last week and is living on top of one of the hotels. He likes to swoop down onto the street and his mum and dad look out for him.

“He’s very clever – it’s funny to watch. He knows he can’t cross the road so he will just walk up and down one side. If anybody goes near him his parents will come down – they’re very protective of him.

“He can fly but he still wants to fly with his parents so he cries and stomps his feet until they come down to get him. He’s a bit of a diva.

“I was outside yesterday and I saw him stomping his feet and crying loudly so his parents came down to take him away.

“Mum and dad are very protective – they’re good parents. He’s very demanding.”

The manager of Mary Hotel said he has also been attacked by the unruly gulls and claims he saw one of the birds attacking a dog.

David, who asked not to give his last name, said: “The other day I saw one of them attacking a dog – it was a medium-sized dog.

“I was attacked last week. The chick had fallen and a cat had noticed and was trying to attack. I tried to get in the middle to stop it but the parents came down and attacked me.

“It happens every year but it has been particularly bad this year.”

Del Martin, who owns The Villa Guest House with her husband Clive, said seagulls have always nested on the busy street and are usually relatively peaceful if left alone but she said this year was different.

Mrs Martin said: “I haven’t been attacked myself but my husband said he saw one of the seagulls attack a man who was cleaning the steps of one of the hotels.

“I’m an animal lover – I’m always outside feeding the sparrows and I’ve always thought that if you leave them alone they will leave you alone but my husband said the man was just minding his own business and getting on with his day when the bird swooped down and attacked him.”

Seagulls have become a hot topic in the UK – especially after a dog-owner claimed her miniature Chihuahua was carried away by a gull.

Four-year-old Gizmo was in the garden of a house in Paignton, Devon, on Sunday when the bird swooped down and flew away with the tiny dog in its beak. His fate is still unknown.

And in Cardiff attacking seagulls have stopped Royal Mail post workers delivering mail to Farm Drive near Roath Park, where nesting gulls have swooped at staff. Residents have been known to arm themselves with umbrellas to fend off the swooping birds.

In Llandaff a seagull was recently caught swallowing another bird in whole.