WOMAN IS HOSPITALISED AFTER SEAGULL ATTACKS HER AS SHE WALKS DOWN THE STREET

A 70-year-old woman was hospitalised after being attacked by a seagull while she walked down the street.Lesley Wright was heading to a neighbour's house in Moray, in the north-east of Scotland, when the bird swooped down from behind and hit the back of her head, sending her crashing to the ground in a daze.
Ms Wright, who has now been left with a scar and a bald patch as a result of the gull's impact, told how she 'felt an almighty whack' as the nose-diving bird left her dripping in blood.
She said: 'I didn't know it was a seagull at the time, not until I heard it squawking after it had done it.
'Next thing I knew my head was bleeding. It wasn't a big cut, but it was bleeding a lot with it being a head wound.'
Thankfully, a concerned bystander brought the incident to the attention of Selina Ho, a nearby lash technician who Ms Wright had been on her way to visit.
Ms Wright said she had not wanted to bother Selina by bringing blood into her home, but the bystander insisted and brought the knocked on her neighbour's door.
Selina brought Ms Wright a bottle of water and some towels in an attempt to clean up the bloody wound before rushing her to hospital to be taken care of by medics.
The wound did not require stitched and was instead glued, but the ordeal has left Ms Wright with a permanent scar and temporary bald patch.
But more than that, the incident has left Ms Wright in fear of the 'flying rats' pouncing on her again - and she has questioned why they are a protected species.
She said: 'If I'm out, and I see seagulls or a chick around, I tend to start looking up in the air to make sure none are coming near me. I'm very wary now.
'I've seen quite a few incidents where they've been eating sandwiches out of people's hands on the high street, and my husband says they always go for the dog at the top of the street.
'I do wonder why they're a protected species - they're not nice to look at, and all you can hear at three or four o'clock in the morning is them squawking.
'People call them flying rats - so why are they protected?'
The incident comes less than two weeks after a seagull was brutally kicked to death after stealing a man's fish and chips.
The herring gull nosedived to steal the man's supper from a takeaway near the Marine Parade in Barmouth, Wales at around 1pm on August 4.
It was then attacked and kicked by the angry customer before later dying from its injuries, according to the RSPCA.
The charity has since asked for help to identify the man, who is said to have curly hair and stands at around 5ft 10in.
He was also said to be wearing a black jacket, with rescue officers asking for any witnesses to come forward.
Julia Dalgleish of the RSPCA, said: 'Gulls and their nests are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is illegal to do anything that causes suffering to gulls.
'Sadly, many people have an unfavourable opinion of gulls – but these are intelligent animals who form strong social bonds with.'