A grandad has been left bleeding from his head after he was attacked by a pair of angry seagulls outside his house.
Retired bus driver Kenny Esson, 78, unwittingly set himself up for a hostile encounter with the ferocious gulls after he rescued a stranded chick at home in Ferryhill, Aberdeen.
After carefully placing the small fluffy gull chick over the other side of his garden fence, Kenny was viciously swooped upon by one of its protective parents and felt a sudden 'thud' on the back of his head.
He had been pecked with its sharp beak, with the impact sending blood streaming down his neck. Mr Esson then had to react quickly to avoid a second attack, which he believes was from another bird.
Recalling his close shave with the second attacker, Kenny told the Scottish Sun: "Luckily, I ducked and that one missed. If they’d connected then I dread to think what would have happened."
"The whole side of my face would have been gone. As it was, they only managed to get a chunk out of my forehead."
Kenny additionally revealed to local newspaper Argus & Journal that though he had been on the end of attacks by troublesome gulls at his house before, none of these had been severe enough to cause bleeding until now.
Thankfully the cut on his forehead did not require any medical attention or stitches, and he has since returned to his garden with granddaughter’s Staffordshire bull terrier for protection.
Over in Wales, several residents of a coastal village have reported needing medical treatment and tetanus shots in recent months after attacks from aggressive gulls.
One woman was left "quite badly hurt" after falling on her arm while being mobbed by a group of gulls a few weeks ago.
Local resident Gareth Parry said the chaos began around springtime, with the problem now "worse than it has ever been."
According to the RSPB, gull chicks should not be touched unless they appear to be clearly injured.
