An Angus man is in a flap over the encroachment of winged intruders in his home.
Tommy Stewart caught a seagull stealing his dog’s dinner.
Taxi driver Mr Stewart, from Montrose, was astounded when he discovered the brazen bird in his Glenprosen Street kitchen.
“I’ve been having problems with intruders in the house as gulls have been coming in and out,” he said. “I can’t leave my back door open and had been leaving it to let the dog in.
“But we were getting ready one morning and I heard this pitter-patter and wondered what it was. I came through and here was this seagull eating the dog’s dinner.”
Boxer dog Skye came through and shooed the avian absconder away, but Mr Stewart, 43, says the incident is a sign of the times.
He said: “Residents here have been putting up with pesky seagulls for a long time now. They swoop down on people walking through the streets for no reason.
“And if you’re sitting outside with a sandwich or some food in your hand, they will definitely grab it and make off with it.”
Mr Stewart’s distress mirrors problems faced by seaside towns in Fife.
Last month The Courier reported that aggressive gulls are snatching food from the hands of hungry shoppers in Kirkcaldy.
A greedy gull grabbed a steak pie from the grasp of one man just as he was about to take a bite. Another was astounded when one swooped on his sausage roll.
Mr Stewart said he had raised his concerns about the birds with Angus Council, but the local authority was unable to solve the problem.
He said: “There is a guy that they employ for about 12 weeks a year who uses a hawk to scare seagulls away.
“He came here but it didn’t make any difference they just flew up and came straight down when they’d gone.”
Hawks and falcons are used to disturb gulls in Arbroath and Montrose town centres, along with hawk kites in the hope of moving the gulls out of town to nest.
Angus Council said it provides a nest and egg removal service, during the period when gulls are typically building nests.