A Moray woman who was left bruised and bloodied by an aggressive gull claims her town is living in fear of the increasingly violent birds.
Jean Middleton was attacked as she walked her dog through Buckie’s Merson Park on Tuesday evening.
She said the gull looked her in the eye before swooping so forcefully towards her that it left her upper lip bleeding, swollen and bruised.
And the 53-year-old revealed others in the town were so afraid of suffering similar attacks they had taken to walking around with umbrellas in all weathers.
Ms Middleton said the attack happened while she was walking her Cavalier King Charles spaniel Jackson.
She said: “We must have been near the gulls’ young, and they began to swoop down at my dog.
“One bird then started to circle me and, while hovering in mid-air in front of my face, it looked me right in the eye.
“It all happened so quickly, but the next thing I knew it had flown right into my lip.
“It was so painful I was in tears, and I couldn’t believe the shock of it.
“It was only later I realised there was blood dripping from where it attacked me.
“If it had landed just a few inches higher up it would have taken my eye out with the force of that peck.”
Ms Middleton added: “I’ve had them swoop at me closely in the past but nothing like this.
“Since that happened to me a few people have approached me to say they have suffered similar attacks.
“Some folk are even going around with umbrellas at all times to protect them from gulls swooping down at them.
“I just worry about what could happen to a young child or an old person if they were attacked in this way.”
Ms Middleton contacted NHS 24 that evening but said she was too shaken to attend hospital despite being urged to by medical experts.
The following morning she visited her local doctor and was given a tetanus injection and placed on antibiotics to stave off any bacteria in her system following the incident.
The Moray Council social services worker was married in May, and hopes the signs of the attack will be less visible for her reception dance next month.
And although she was wounded by one of the the birds, Ms Middleton is in favour of them remaining in the town.
“I don’t dislike gulls at all,” she said.
Instead, she urged residents to take action to discourage the birds from urban areas by limiting their access to food.
Buckie councillor Gordon McDonald said he was aware of the birds causing problems for residents, and revealed he had survived some “harrowing encounters” with gulls himself.
Mr McDonald said: “Most folk in the Buckie area are well aware of the problems the town has had with gulls, but they are a natural hazard we simply have to deal with day to day.
“We try to give them a wide berth when we can, they are powerful birds and they are very protective of their young.
“People who feed the gulls should stop as that only encourages them, as does leaving food litter in the street.
“I have had a few harrowing encounters with the birds myself, and they can be quite ferocious when they are swooping at you.”
The attack on Ms Middleton, on Tuesday evening, happened on the same week that a proposed UK government study into dealing with urban gulls fell victim to budget cuts.
The department for environment, food and rural affairs described a planned £250,000 investigation into the birds as “low priority”.
The funding for the programme had been initially allocated in the March budget.