Villagers told: Wear hat and carry brolly to stay safe from birds
FAMILIES have been warned to protect themselves from marauding gulls - with hats and umbrellas.
Bird experts say they can do nothing about the flocks of huge gulls which are terrorising the Fife coast until baby birds have flown the nests.
People in Buckhaven say the gulls are swooping on kids in scenes straight out of the horror film The Birds.
But the RSPB say all they can do is wear hats, carry brollies and wave their arms.
One resident, Anne Ferguson, 52, said she'd seen several people attacked - and was attacked herself when she tried to help a chick which had fallen from its nest.
But Fife Council told her it would be too costly to have all the houses fitted with devices to stop the birds landing.
And the RSPB said it was illegal to disturb the birds while they are nesting.
Anne said: "I can't take my four-month-old grandson and three-year-old grand-daughter outside into the garden.
"They haven't hurt the children but they brush them with their wings to frighten them and, believe me, it can be terrifying."
Betting shop manager Adam Taylor, 26, fears for his young son Logan and niece Abbie.
He said: "It is ridiculous to suggest that all we can do is carry umbrellas, flap our arms around and wear hats.
"We had a young gull in our garden for seven months.
"It terrorised us. And it would try to go for our baby's pram."
Fife Council said they had no duty to take action against seagulls.
