I wore fancy dress to scare away violent seagulls attacking visitors at Blackpool Zoo – you’ll never guess what happened

PESKY seagulls have been ruffling feathers at seaside towns across the nation, often dive-bombing visitors and stealing their chips.

But as we reported on Monday, Blackpool Zoo has come up with an ingenious way to disperse the aerial menace.

It is hiring five people to dress up as eagles and scare off up to 200 brazen birds.

It follows a number of attempts to deter the seabirds, as well as discouraging people from dropping food or plastic, which can harm them.

Khaled Fawzy, 41, who has worked at the zoo for 26 years, says: “We’ve played distress noises over the Tannoy, flew kites and even used a trained hawk to scare them away — but none of it has worked.”

The zoo’s seasonal Seagull Deterrent posts, paid up to £10.80 per hour, require real gull-getters who are unflappable under pressure.

The zoo has received 150 applications, including from as far away as Australia and Uganda.

While some think bosses have gone cuckoo, I decided to see if I could wing it in the role for a day…

Angry birds

AFTER checking the grounds, I’ve been told a large flock of seagulls is gathering near the cafe and outdoor dining area.

In the past, these pesky birds have “intimidated guests”, scaring them into giving them food.

The clever devils even worked out how to walk through an electric door to fill up on more scraps from inside.

As any half-decent predator knows, the best plan of attack is using the element of surprise.

So I hide among the trees until enough have amassed and get ready to strike.

The pecking order

IT is important in the animal kingdom to establish a pecking order and any seagulls in my way better beak careful.

Having spotted several snacking on leftover chips, I charge and shriek using my best hawk sounds (which actually sound like a croaky frog) to scare them away.

It seems to have worked, although as I walk away the seagulls regroup on the roofs nearby.

It seems as though they are planning their next attack.

Squarking to you

WORD is getting out among these grub-grabbing gulls.

Whenever they see me, they stay away, but upon turning my back they quickly return with a vengeance.

After grabbing chips, ice cream cones and fish usually fed to penguins, my hope is that I can ask them politely to move.

But none of the seagulls are looking to chat, nor daring enough to divebomb me. Either way, my job is done.

After a long day’s work, it’s clear they know who the Big Bird in this zoo is. I’ll leave it to the professionals.

All in a flap

SEAGULLS have likely come across birds of prey in the past – but they sure haven’t seen one that’s nearly 6ft tall.

However, slipping into the eagle costume isn’t as easy as it looks.

The tiny foot holes take multiple attempts to get in to and eventually I have to remove my shoes.

There’s also a small section to fit my head through that’s tricky.

And there’s a fan, which inflates the outfit, to watch out for. You can’t rush turning into a raptor.

Kung-Fu flighting

TAKING on my feathered foes is no easy task. After hearing they have attacked the public, I decided to practise some of my best Kung Fu moves.

The crane kick, from the original Karate Kid film, seemed an obvious choice.

Not only due to taking down the Cobra Kai with ease but also the real-life bird it’s inspired by is very tall and imposing.

In the end it turns out just running at the seagulls full speed did the trick

Otterly stupid

NEST on the agenda, surveil the area. After hearing reports of seagulls targeting a bird breeding area, I’m on the lookout for any fowl play.

But my route is full of distractions from children who want me to pose for pictures to curious cute animals in their enclosures.

In particular, the otters were making odd noises and looking confused when I passed.