Postal workers are refusing to deliver to a seaside cul-de-sac because they are coming under attack – from dive-bombing SEAGULLS.
Officials at Royal Mail said petrified posties have been injured by the swooping birds, dive-bombing and pecking at their heads.
It is thought the gulls are launching their ariel onslaughts to protect nests – and are being made even angrier by the postal workers’ brightly-coloured uniforms.
Royal Mail has now ruled the gulls are a health and safety risk and have told residents at Liskey Hill Crescent, Perranporth, Cornwall, to collect their letters from a nearby post office.
But homeowners say they have had to put up with the seagull blitz themselves for years and want mail staff to “man up” and start delivering again.
Jackie Bray, 67, who has lived on the crescent for 35 years, said: “I’m waiting for a hip operation and now I have to go to the post office every day to collect my mail.
“It’s a service that we pay for, a service we are not getting. We have to put up with the seagulls so why can’t they? They should man up, buy a hard helmet and deal with it.”
Royal Mail declared the street off-limits after a postwoman came under repeated attack from the birds.
The gulls have pecked parents, children, dog walkers and builders but locals say nothing has ever been done about it.
Long-time resident Eric Hardinge, 67, said: “In the past five years the seagulls have become more aggressive.
“They are protecting their chicks and attack people in packs, swooping down, targeting people’s heads.
“They go berserk when they see bright colours which is why I think they’ve gone for the postwoman because she wears red.
“The chicks will disappear but it is an on-going problem. The birds need to be culled.”
Stuart Little, who has Parkinson’s disease, said he is not able to collect his own post.
He said: “I can’t walk very far. I understand the reasons for stopping the service but it’s very inconvenient. I think the gulls need to be controlled, they’re a pest.”
In a letter to residents delivery office manager Andy Blight said the service would resume once the chicks have moved on or if they are removed by an authorised person.
Royal Mail apologised to customers but said the seagull attacks mean posties were facing a serious risk of injury.
Spokeswoman Val Bodden said: “The safety of our people is paramount and these swooping attacks have made it difficult for her to continue to do her job.
“These kinds of attacks do occur at this time of year across the country, as gulls are nesting.
“We apologise to those customers affected and we will resume deliveries as soon as it is safe for us to do so. We are continuing to monitor the situation.”
Last year Royal Mail suspended deliveries to one suburban cul-de-sac in Chippenham, Wiltshire, because of a flea infestation.
Colleagues refused to deliver to another street in Bournemouth, Dorset, last May after complaining it was overrun with midges from a water treatment plant.
And just last week postmen were told not to deliver to homes in Market Drayton, Shropshire, over fears they could injure themselves on his “aggressive” raspberry bush.
