Their dive-bombing has caused grief for countless people visiting the seaside, but one prolific shoplifting gull has caused more mayhem than most.
The bird, dubbed “Steven Seagull”, has stolen innumerable packets of crisps from a shop in Dorset in the past six years, with around 30 believed to have been pinched in the past two months alone.
In a bid to stop the shoplifter, staff at the Lyndale Central store in Wyke Regis put out a selection of spicy crisps where the bird’s favourite flavour – BBQ beef – would be kept.
However, a new video shows how the gull ignored those and still found its preferred packet.
Stuart Harmer, the store manager, has now “banned” the gull by sticking signs on the door telling people not to let it inside.
He told the BBC: “Trying to explain to the powers that be that I’ve got stock loss because of a seagull – they think it’s a joke.”