‘Refund my Big Mac cash’ - council urged to take action after South Shields seagull attack

Wayne Simpson, aged 56, from Sunderland had just purchased a Big Mac from South Shields’ McDonalds restaurant located on King Street, when a seagull swooped down and stole it from his hands.

Wayne is now urging the council to take action in regard to the any seagulls flying through King Street daily.

Wayne told us: “It’s getting quite a problem. It happens all the time to everybody”.

Wayne sent an email to South Tyneside Council, explaining the incident, suggesting ideas to help stop the problem and for a refund for his Big Mac, as he believed he should be reimbursed for the burger, due to it being ‘no fault of his own’ that he was unable to eat it.

Wayne’s suggestions to the council to help prevent further ongoing seagull attacks included the purchase of netting or a roof to cover King Street. He said: “The roof may spoil King Street but a net would work and stop people getting attacked. The council has to do something about it.”

He continued: “You don’t want conflict between you and seagulls, which will happen if nothing is done”.

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A spokesperson for South Tyneside Council said: “Seagulls are a very common sight in South Shields, as they are in any other seaside town.

“We do have measures in place to prevent birds from roosting and nesting in the town centre area and we would encourage businesses to make adequate arrangements to bird- proof buildings where roosting or nesting is an issue.

“However, they are currently a red list protected species which limits the actions that we can take. Under current legislation it would be illegal to carry out any form of cull or interfere with the birds, nests or eggs unless there was a risk to public health or public safety and, even then, could only be a last resort when other forms of deterrent have been tried or are impractical.

“Seagulls are opportunistic birds and will take food when it is offered or available. We advise people to take caution when eating out in the open and we have signage in place strongly advising people not to feed the birds. “