‘Evil’ woman pours hot coals over seagull on Seaton beach.

A SPATE of seagull attacks have taken place in Seaton – with one bird shot dead and another left blind.

A woman allegedly threw hot barbecue coals at a flock of seagulls on the beach during the cycling festival– burning the eye of one bird.

And last week another animal was shot in Queen Street during the World Cup football match with England and Germany.

An eye-witness has described the most recent attack, which has left a bird slowly dying, as ‘evil’.

Animal lover Jill Moulding, from Manor Road, said she saw a woman waving what appeared to be meat in the air.

She said: “All of sudden hundreds of seagulls were around her. She put down the meat and picked up something, I think it was hot coals from the barbecue, and threw them at the seagulls and said ‘take that’.

“They flew off but one landed in the sea. Three little girls, who must have been near the sea were very distressed. I went down to the water and fished it out and made a little nest of pebbles for it.

“Its eye was burned and it wouldn’t respond. I stayed with it until the fireworks were over.

“I think she is evil, I really would have liked to have thrown hot coals at her.”

She said no-one on the beach seemed interested in the seagull’s plight and told her “It’s just a flying rat”.

She said she tried to call the RSPCA and animal warden but go no answer.

She added: “Its eye was bleeding on Sunday and I can’t imagine it would live much longer. It has been so awful having to leave it there. I think that woman should be shamed for what she did.”

A 40-year-old local man has been charged with shooting a wild bird with an air rifle.

He faces a total of five charges, which include shooting a wild bird with an air rifle, discharging a firearm within 50 ft of a highway, firing an air rifle beyond the boundary of his house and possession of cannabis.

Sergeant Richard Stonecliffe said that although seagulls may be considered nuisances, people did not have the right to attack them.