At least seven children have been injured by ‘out of control’ rampaging gulls in scenes reminiscent of an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
Children have been attacked by the gulls in a Scottish fishing port (Image: Getty )
Children have been left with blood dripping down their faces after a spate a horror attacks by marauding herring gulls in a Scottish fishing port.
At least seven youngsters have been attacked in just a month with many left with gashes to their scalps by what local councillors called “out of control” birds.
The incidents sound like a plot from Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic 1963 horror film, The Birds, where local people in a seaside town are suddenly targeted in series of random avian attacks.
But this has been the reality for residents in Eyemouth, on the North Sea coast of the Scottish Borders, where the town’s 3,500 residents have been under siege from herring gulls.
Councillor James Anderson said children had been left with blood running down their faces in the incidents and he has tabled a motion for a report on the impact of the birds on the local community.
Herring gulls have been identified as the culprits behind the spate of attacks (Image: Getty )
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Anderson said: “Eyemouth has seen multiple gull-strike victims – one local business saw seven children attacked in one month and left with gashes to the scalp and blood running down their wee faces.
“That’s why I’ve brought this motion. I think it’s really important that all the parties involved in this issue come together.”
All gulls are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, making it an offence to intentionally injure or kill any gull, or to take, damage or destroy an active nest or its content.
Mr Anderson added that he didn’t want to “demonise” the birds but that he was seeking to obtain “proper information” on the “true population” in the area.
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Eyemouth is a small fishing town in the Scottish borders (Image: Getty )
He continued: “We don’t demonise the herring gull, they are part of life on the coast, trying to live and thrive like us all.
“But let us remember we are responsible not only for the protection of wildlife but also for the welfare and safety of our community.
“Over-population leads to starving and unhealthy birds, which leaves them susceptible to disease and hardship and death.
“By enacting meaningful measures we can ensure that we strike the right balance between environmental stewardship and community well-being.”
