Aggressive seagulls are causing havoc for postal workers in Cornwall, who have had to abandon their routes due to “safety issues”.
Royal Mail has apologised to residents in Liskeard after the dive-bombing gulls forced staff to suspend their deliveries in the area.
The postal service has offered locals alternative arrangements – including a safer delivery address away from the offending birds and mail being held in an office.
It also suggested residents wait until the aggressive birds have calmed down and stopped protecting their young – but this could be at the end of the August.
In a letter to residents, Royal Mail assured customers the situation would be monitored on a daily basis.
The letter said: “As you may be aware, we are currently experiencing some difficulties safely delivering to you and your neighbour due to seagulls in the area, swooping at delivering staff in order to protect their young.
“The purpose of this letter is to firstly advise you of the issues we are experiencing but also to assure you that we will continue to attempt deliveries every day.”
It added: “Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this may cause but whilst Royal Mail is committed to providing a consistent daily delivery to addresses, we do place the highest priority on the safety of our employees.”
Seagulls typically raise their young from May to late August each year and in this period, they can be more aggressive.
The RSPCA says that gulls that swoop suddenly on people or pets are often trying to protect their chicks and will stop when the person or animal has moved away from their young.
However, this behaviour usually only lasts for a few weeks until the chicks have fledged and are able to protect themselves, according to the animal charity.
One local in Liskeard, Naomi, told the BBC the gulls nest on her neighbouring property for six weeks every year – in this time she said it’s “sort of deadly to go out”.
“It’s really a daily occurrence where I’m seeing people that are walking by or delivering things getting swooped,” she said.
Another resident told The Telegraph: “These birds are so terrible for being so protective of their young. Something has got to be done about these birds to stop them attacking humans.”
However, others suggested the posties should just wear a hat or a safety helmet.
