Seagulls force vicar to wear hardhat
July 21st 2008 A Cornish vicar has taken to wearing a hardhat to church to protect him from an unusual hazard - a pair of dive-bombing seagulls.
According to The Telegraph the seagulls, who are raising a chick in the graveyard of of St Petroc's in Bodmin, have been swooping on passers-by to keep them at bay.
Despite complaints about the seagulls' aggressive behaviour, Rev Canon Graham Minors says they should not be moved: "It is a case of mother nature. People are able to walk through the churchyard safely but if you get too close you might be dive-bombed." Rev Minors expects them to calm down once the chick leaves the nest in a few weeks.
Peter Glaser, a local photographer, said he was attacked just trying to get a picture of the birds: "It gave me shivers and made my hair curl as the seagulls flew towards me. I was terrified and stood with my back against the wall."
Seagulls are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, making it an offence to kill the birds or interfere with their nests.
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