Totnes swooping gull 'regularly tries to attack me'

Martyn Green said the gull swoops as soon as he moves away from his front door

A man feels "trapped" in his house because an aggressive gull nesting on his roof regularly swoops at him.

Martyn Green, from Totnes in Devon, said he was recently left with blood running down his neck after the gull "stabbed me in the top of my head".

The birds are protected by law and it is an offence to remove them without a licence from Natural England.

Mr Green's landlord said it was looking into "the most appropriate measures" to take to deal with the problem.

Mr Green, 62, who lives with wife Julie, said: "The male is particularly aggressive. The other day he came down, swooped up from behind me and stabbed me in the top of the head. I had blood that came running down the head and down the back of my shirt.

The gulls are protective of their nest, which is on top of Mr Green's chimney

"Sometimes you just feel like you are trapped within your own house. I'd like to come out and get my garden done, but every time I do it just swoops for me."

He wants his landlord to install precautions against nesting birds in the future.

'Gull-proof property'

"When the nesting period is over, I would like them to put sensible chimney pots that the birds can't nest in, and bird wires to stop them coming back again," he said.

"At least that way I know that next year we will be safer."

James Reseigh, of LiveWest Housing Association, said "We have spoken to Mr Green and assured him we will appoint a licensed contractor to look into the most appropriate, preventative measures for this particular home."

South Hams District Council said it was also looking at the problem and liaise with LiveWest.

Natural England said local authorities and their contractors need to apply for licences to control gulls, which can include allowing the destruction of nests and eggs where appropriate.