´óÏó´«Ã½

A man has been told to use an umbrella to dodge "vicious" seagulls swooping at him from his roof.

Tom Ellis said the gulls on his house in Prestatyn had turned aggressive after hatching two chicks in the last two weeks.

The 29-year-old said Denbighshire council told him to put an umbrella up to protect himself.

The council said people were responsible for "seagull-proofing" their own property.

Mr Ellis said the birds would squawk to "try and intimidate" him.

"That is what they are trying to do in order to protect their young," teacher Mr Ellis added, saying they would go on to swoop nearby and then try to attack.

"A couple of times they have gone for the third swoop to make contact, and I have just about got into the house before they have managed to," he said.

"I'm not a big bird person, I'm not great around birds.

"I was kind of avoiding them and it was going well.

"Then once they began to swoop down and things like that it definitely made me more nervous and anxious."

Mr Ellis ended up calling Denbighshire council for help.

"They said basically 'put up an umbrella, there is nothing that you can do'," he said.

"You can't move them because they are protected."

The RSPB said it was illegal "to intentionally injure or kill any gull", which normally nest in inaccessible locations.

A spokesman said: "However, some lesser black-backed and herring gulls have successfully adopted roofs for nesting."

Denbighshire County Council said it was "aware of the problem of seagulls" and was working to "alleviate" it.

It wanted to "discourage residents and visitors from feeding seagulls."

The authority said "years of austerity" had affected its pest control service.

A spokesman said: "Individuals should take responsibility for seagull-proofing their own property or employ appropriate licensed companies to assist with seagull issues."