This is the moment a fish and chip-eating couple are ambushed by a mob of aggressive seagulls.

The retired couple were sat on the sea wall enjoying their lunch when the trio of birds swooped down on them.

Oblivious to the threat coming from the side of her, the woman paused for a moment while holding a sizable chip between her thumb and index finger.

Bournemouth Echo: A daring seagull flies in and steals a piece of fish from the fingers of a woman having lunch with her husband at the beach at the seaside resort of Lyme Regis in Dorset. The gull begins is dive. 5th July 2022. Picture Credit: Graham Hunt PhotographyA daring seagull flies in and steals a piece of fish from the fingers of a woman having lunch with her husband at the beach at the seaside resort of Lyme Regis in Dorset. The gull begins is dive. 5th July 2022. Picture Credit: Graham Hunt Photography

One of the gulls then dived in and grabbed the fried potato snack from out of her left hand before flying off with it in its beak.

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The woman's immediate reaction was to recoil in shock while her husband used his two-pronged wooden fork to ward off a second bird.

Bournemouth Echo:

The incident was caught on camera by Graham Hunt in Lyme Regis, where tourists are often harassed by aggressive gulls.

Three years ago the local town council experimented by hiring two bald eagles in a bid to scare off seagulls that steal chips and ice creams from visitors.

Bournemouth Echo:

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is illegal to 'intentionally injure or kill any gull'. It is also a crime to 'damage or destroy an active nest or its contents'.

Some tourism resorts have brought in by-laws making it an offence for people to feed gulls, with warning signs put up to reinforce the message.

Read more: ‘Don’t Feed the Locals’: Public asked not to feed "greedy" seagulls

So-called gull-proof rubbish bins have also been used to stop them getting at food waste.

Mr Hunt said: "Seagulls in Lyme Regis seem to be particularly aggressive, especially towards anyone with food by the beach.

"As soon as the couple sat down one seagull landed on the wall next to them and I told them they should shoo it away.

"They did and it jumped off but returned a couple of minutes later and did her.

"She cried out from where it must have bitten her. She said it was quite painful and then got up and moved away."