Half-cut herring gulls wreak havoc in UK

Britain’s seaside towns are being plagued by drunken birds annoying the public, acting aggressively and leaving the place looking like a rubbish tip.

But these aren’t gaggles of hen nights getting a bit out of hand after one Lambrini too many.

They’re half-cut herring gulls who, according to experts, are getting drunk on record numbers of flying ants.

The bird boffins say the hot weather we’ve enjoyed this summer has led to a huge glut of the insects, which turn to formic acid in the gulls’ stomachs, acting like alcohol.

This not only causes birds to lose their inhibitions around humans, brazenly stealing food, but to fly straight into buildings or into the path of oncoming vehicles.

One Devon motorist reported seeing dozens of dead birds on the road, saying: “They were all over the place, pecking in the road. I’ve never seen it before, they’re in the road and just don’t want to move.”

RSPB spokesman Tony Whitehead says: “Gulls love flying ants and the birds will feast on them early in the morning and late in the evening.”

The acid is likely the reason for a bird behaviour being known as “anting” in which birds thrash around like drunken hooligans, covering themselves in ants.

The acid may help repel parasites.

Britons may be bird-lovers but we seem to be united in our hatred of herring gulls.

They’re big, noisy and aggressive last month, one Great Yarmouth woman tore her Achilles’ tendon trying to escape a gull attack.

And we’ve all seen them using their razor-sharp yellow beaks to tear open rubbish bags, which then attracts other vermin.

The problem is bad in Bristol, where four greedy gulls recently swooped on a customer’s burger and chips outside a harbourside bar when he went inside to order a drink.

The gulls are a protected species but there are calls for culling to start.

Measures could include oiling eggs or replacing them with dummies, both of which ensure the gulls continue to incubate the now-lifeless eggs, instead of laying another clutch.

More needs to be done, or our seaside towns will end up looking like a scene from a certain Alfred Hitchcock movie.