They are a blasted nuisance on the coast, too, loopy. They are such lovely looking creatures with their snowy white plumage but, seriously, they are just vermin, no better than rats. In many ways a lot worse because they cr@p everywhere, they are vicious, attacking people for their food - and when the victim is a small child holding an ice-cream, this is dangerous as well as distressing. And they attack pets, often killing them.
Visit somewhere like Brixham on a summer evening and you'll see hundreds of the things pestering people for their fish and chips, and they are very determined - one literally landed on my lap while we were sitting eating fish and chips last year (he was unlucky as I kept the food covered).
It really is time for a serious cull and I for one welcome David Cameron's suggestion this week that there needs to be a 'big conversation' about this huge problem.