How menacing ‘XL gullies’ are ambushing and assaulting seaside residents across UK leaving them with horrific injuries

A BRAZEN seagull raids a pub-goer’s dinner plate as so-called “XL Gullies” strike fear into unsuspecting Brits. Menacingly large and capable of ferocious attacks, the giant seagulls — nicknamed in a nod to the banned XL Bully dog breed — are ambushing punters, pinching food and causing nasty injuries. ‘XL Gullies’ are harassing Britain’s coasts Credit: Getty A greedy bird grabs a chip at Wetherspoons Credit: SWNS This bolshy bird stole from a bowl of chips at the Glass House boozer’s beer garden in Norwich, Norfolk. It struck as an XL Gully epidemic sweeps the UK. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! In Inverness, 16 scary strikes over just two days in April left locals waging war on the birds. But seagulls are a protected species, meaning it is illegal to intentionally kill, take or injure them. It is also against the law to damage or destroy their eggs or nests. Speaking to communities across the country, The Sun today reveals the true extent of the seagulls’ reign of terror . . . PRESTATYN, WALES Former mayor Tony Flynn after an attack Credit: Supplied ‘It was like being hit with a hammer’, said Tony Credit: Supplied EMERGING from an evening prayer meeting last month, former mayor Tony Flynn, 71, felt an “incredible thud” against his head and realised it was a seagull attack. “It was like being hit with a hammer,” he tells us. “My knees buckled and I put my hand there. It was absolutely covered in blood and began dripping down my face.” Tony spotted a couple of chicks in the road, which had likely fallen from a nearby roof, and realised the gull was protecting its young. Most read in The Sun The next morning, his pillow was soaked in blood and he went to hospital for a tetanus jab. It is nothing new for the people of Prestatyn, he says, revealing there is “a real issue that won’t go away”. Tony explains: “These birds are so powerful. If it’s an attack on an elderly person with frailty or a child, it could really hurt them. It’s a real problem.” INVERNESS Seagull summit where experts plan ways to stop beasts Credit: Northpix Mid-attack in Scotland Credit: SWNS OVER two days in April, there were 16 “coordinated” gull attacks during a children’s Easter egg hunt. A witness said the gulls were attempting to steal food en masse. They even targeted young kids. Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie chaired a summit on the issue in the city last year. And ex-Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has said the attacks are “one of the biggest matters” constituents complain about. He revealed pensioners were “genuinely worried” to leave their homes during nesting season and said he had been sent many injury photos. “There were huge lacerations to the head and people in A&E,” Ross says. “One self-employed builder was attacked and fell, leading to his leg being put in a cast and him unable to work for months. “Another constituent, divebombed while coming back from the shops, fell and broke her hip.” Ross claims Governments are not taking the issue seriously enough. “People have been told to hold an umbrella or flail their arms to stop gulls divebombing them,” he says. “Another idea was to draw googly eyes on a pizza box as gulls apparently don’t like being stared at. It’d be funny if it wasn’t so serious.” Ross has previously said gull attacks are at a “deadly” level”. He wants nests and birds immediately removed in trouble hotspots. SOMERSET Debbie Gibert’s car was defecated on by birds Credit: Supplied ‘At one point, I couldn’t leave my car without them swooping down’, explains Debbie Credit: Supplied WHEN Debbie Gilbert and husband Jon relocated from Hertfordshire to Tatworth, near Somerset, in 2023, they envisaged a life of tranquillity. But it has been anything but for Debbie, 58, as every morning at 4.30am she is rudely wakened by squawking gulls stomping on her bungalow roof. “I’ve had an absolute nightmare with them,” says Debbie, who runs the Best Business Women Awards. “The noise is horrendous. “Stay the night and you will wonder how we put up with it. Even ear plugs don’t always work. “We even installed spikes on our roof to stop them nesting and they returned and went on next door’s house instead.” But it is not just the noise that is an issue for Debbie. “At one point, I couldn’t leave my car without them swooping down,” she explains. “I dreaded coming home, it’s like it was their house. They attacked my husband’s stepdad, who is 97 and has dementia. “They split his hand open due to being giant and having such sharp beaks.” Debbie, who lives 25 minutes from the sea, believes gull numbers are out of control and wants their protected status removed. “If you’ve got rats, you can deal with them,” she says. “To me, seagulls are rats of the sky and probably worse as they are so aggressive.” BRIGHTON The Sun has heard tales of foodies being attacked twice in a day by peckish birds, pictured Emily Elliott Credit: Sussex News and Pictures IN popular seaside spot Brighton and Hove, where it is estimated that 10,000 of the birds reside, seagull “muggings” are commonplace. The Sun has heard tales of foodies being attacked twice in a day by peckish birds along the seafront. Emily Elliott, 23, was struck three times in a month for her carb-heavy treats. “It’s a big problem in Brighton, to the extent you can’t even dream of eating on the street,” the journalist tells us. I got scratched on my face. “The scary thing is seeing the shadow of the bird, its silhouette, getting bigger as it comes down towards you and you know there’s nothing you can do. “One grabbed my sandwich and then three of them ate it. They help each other out.” Comment now