Greggs clients are being terrorised by a lunch-stealing seagull

Hungry Greggs customers are having their lunches snatched out of their hands by an aggressive dive-bombing seagull.

The terrorist gull, nicknamed Greg, has been targeting customers as they unsuspectingly leave a bakery in Bournemouth.

One man in a white t-shirt eating a pizza slice was spooked after the ferocious gull flew directly behind his head and made a lunge for his tasty meal.

Some of Greg’s victims manage to instinctively duck down just in time to avoid losing their lunch – while others are left to go hungry.

The hungry gull has been spotted by locals using a red phone box near the bakery as a perch to spot his next victim.

A local told The Sun: ‘He is sneaky and seems to know what he is doing.

‘People have to walk past the phone box as they leave Greggs and they usually start eating sausage rolls or steak bakes straightaway. This gull then swoops in to try and take whatever is in their hand.

‘I was lucky and reacted quickly but I saw one guy lose his pizza slice to the gull.’ 

One man was left staring at his empty wrapper in disbelief as the seagull snatched his pizza slice and flew off. 

Greg was seen circling with intent as it hunted more snacks to pilfer during lunchtime footfall. 

Several people, including a young woman, had to duck for the cover as the open-mouthed gull flew straight at them. 

Gulls are opportunistic feeders and will eat almost anything they can fit down their throats. 

Their natural diet includes scraps, eggs, seeds, fruits, carrion, fish, insects, smaller birds and shellfish. But gulls living in cities have grown an appetite for British classics like chips, burgers and kebabs.

And the animals eat far more than humans do, with a fully grown adult herring gull for instance eating approximately 20 per cent of its body weight every day in food.

That is the equivalent of a 10-stone adult consuming two stone worth of food every day – or 59 Big Macs.

Despite his need for food, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council urged visitors not to feed hungry Greg. 

A spokesman said in a statement: ‘We are limited in action we can take.

‘In a coastal area, this is a part of life and we encourage visitors to not feed the seagulls and avoid carrying food near spots where there is a high concentration.’ 

The sly birds – technically called gulls rather than seagulls – remain protected because their colonies are declining so rapidly, meaning they are on a ‘red list’ of birds at risk.

And anyone who deliberately disturbs or harms wild gulls risks up to two years in prison and a fine.

With their cushy lifestyle of endless junk food and government protection, the smug seagulls have formed a feral posse of gulls that control Britain’s skies. 

Bird expert Dominic Couzens previously told MailOnline that seagulls were more intelligent than people gave them credit for and they were taking advantage of Brits’ forgiving nature.

Couzens said the fierce gulls had learned to target people holding chips and ice creams – and suggested Brits only have themselves to blame.

The expert said: ‘They are not the problem. We are the problem. The reason herring gulls started eating chips is that people would leave them and not put them in bins.

‘If they come into town they are going to be more familiar with people. They are omnivores, very intelligent and will eat anything.

‘They are opportunistic and extremely adaptable. If they are into a good thing, they will stick with it.

‘They are being lazy – just taking opportunities when they present themselves. From their point of view it’s just doing what they do – what comes naturally to them.’