Drunk bloke seen carrying seagull around shop on CCTV before hurling bird at stranger

A drunken man was caught on CCTV carrying a seagull around a shop before he launched the bird at a man and broke his jaw.

Paul Elcombe, 29, picked up the distressed gull after it had been hit by a car in the middle of the night and showed it off to customers at Premier Stores in Mutley Plain, Plymouth.

Things turned ugly when Elcombe, who had been on a two-day drink and drugs bender, threw the seagull at Kyle Murray-Towers before kicking and punching him while he was on the floor, PlymouthLive reported.

Fortunately, the bird was caught on CCTV flying away unscathed.

Paul Elcombe picked up the injured bird and paraded it around a Plymouth convenience store in May 2019 (Crown Prosecution Service)

Elcombe, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to assault causing grievous bodily harm without intent on May 12, 2019.

He was jailed for 16 months and two weeks at Plymouth Crown Court last month after the pandemic forced several hearings to be cancelled in the years since the incident, with prosecutors abandoning a charge of attempting to injure the bird after Elcombe was jailed.

Mr Elcombe's barrister told the judge Elcombe was on his way home from drinking when he met the stranger and they began chatting.

He said to the court he saw the seagull lying injured and he picked it up to move it to safety at about 5am.

He was jailed for 16 months and two weeks following the attack (Devon and Cornwall Police / SWNS)

Defence barrister Ali Rafati said that the bird's passive manner in the footage showed that it may have been clipped by a car and left slightly confused. It does not appear to struggle nor flap its wings while being carried about the store.

Mr Rafati said that Elcombe's intention was to settle the gull down safely on a low roof but he changed his mind and decided to show it off in the shop.

The defendant left with the bird and walked into nearby Lisson Grove where he launched it at the man, who fell to the ground and Elcombe then launched a series of punches and kicks to his head.

Elcombe was sentenced at Plymouth Crown Court last month (Plymouth Live photographer)

Kyle Murray-Towers is seen staggering into a nearby lane where a witness from nearby Goodbody's cafe saw Elcombe hit him with a belt.

Mr Elcombe failed to answer bail by attending his trial in June last year. The judge added an additional two weeks for that offence.

Two of the hearings had been cancelled due to Covid and had been listed four times in total for trial.

Mr Elcombe told the court that he launched the attack after the stranger insulted his mother.