Feathered thieves caught on camera - again

Media caption,

Watch as bird bandit pinches paper from newsagent

  • Published

A north Wales city has got a new crime kingpin, with a unique grab and run tactic that is literally stealing the news.

The audacious criminal? A herring gull dubbed Steven Seagull who undertakes bold early morning raids on a Bangor convenience store.

Gulls have now been captured twice on camera in the shop, first grabbing croissants from a shelf, and now nicking a newspaper.

The shop owners says it is only a matter of time before the feathered thieves strike again.

Image caption,

Shop owner Bipin Chawla says it is not uncommon to see seagulls gather outside the shop in the early morning

"It's not his - or her - first time," said Bipin Chawla, who owns the Late Stop 24-7 shop in Bangor, Gwynedd.

"In the early hours of the morning we tend to get a lot of seagulls outside the store.

"We had croissants by the front door, and it was coming in every day, three or four times a week, and it was quite novel and we filmed it, and then over the winter months it disappeared."

Image caption,

The birds gather outside the shop in the Upper Bangor area of the city

Until last week, that is.

"This time it went for the newspaper. It quite sneakily came in, grabbed the paper and ran out again."

The bird's choice of paper? A local weekly title - The Cambrian News.

"I think it was the most convenient thing it could pick up. It grabbed it quite efficiently," said Mr Chawla.

Image source, Getty
Image caption,

The gull has been named after Hollywood action actor Steven Seagal

The shop owner and staff named the gull after Hollywood actor Steven Seagal, who is famed for his hard hitting action roles.

"It's just gone viral on the internet," added Mr Chawla.

The storekeeper said the bird had already been spotted again outside the shop in the last few days.

"We are expecting him to come in again," he said.

"I think all the staff have taken to him."

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