Residents in a Scottish town are under siege from aggressive gulls that are stealing food from shops and straight out of residents' mouths.
Gull-hatching season has begun - and brought with it serious headaches for residents in Dumfries who say the birds are swooping for food.
Noise disturbance is creating headaches from all the squawking and droppings are creating an unwelcome sight around the town.
Dumfries resident Marcie Lindsay told BBC Scotland of her frustrations at being unable to open a window in her home due to the piercing squawking of the gulls.
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She said that cars in her street are covered in bird droppings and added: "I think it was last year or the year before, there was somebody eating a bit of food.
"A seagull came down to attack him and I threw my purse at it to try and get it away.
"It's ridiculous. I've even seen them going in to Iceland and bringing food out of Iceland."
Anne Lindsay, of Loreburn Community Council, also spoke out about the gull situation.
She said: "In previous years we have had reports of actual physical injury, so the gulls swooping as the food goes in the mouth from the human and some people reporting being bruised or their children being bruised.
"So that has happened, no question about that."
Ms Lindsay said she was pleased that the council had recently added spikes to some buildings as a gull deterrent.
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The council has warned of the potential for aggressive behaviour from the gulls if their chicks end up at ground level.
While the local authority has no statutory duty to act, it can offer support, a spokesperson told the BBC.
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