'It carried our dog away': are the UK's seagulls getting more aggressive?

A chihuahua in Devon was recently taken by a swooping bird - and there have been countless other accounts of seagull attacks. Has there been a sudden change in the birds' behaviour?A slight ripple in the wind behind me, the briefest graze of my hair and, within a split second, the ice-cream cone had been snatched from my hand. One second I was holding a mint choc chip, the next I wasn't. It was so fast, and the raid so precise, I didn't really see it happen - just a vision of the gull's tail feathers as it took to the sky.I share my south-coast town with the gulls and you learn to be wary of them. Once, one landed on our table outside a fish and chip shop and made off with half our dinner. They nest noisily on our roof and like to wake us up at 5am every morning; they rip open the rubbish sacks people leave on the streets and creep close on the beach, looking for snacks. Continue reading...