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seagull swoops and cuts five-year-old girl Reuters

A five-year-old girl was left covered in blood during a beach lunch after a seagull swooped and ripped food from her mouth.

Burgh Kemp was eating a sausage when the bird flew down and yanked the meat from her - cutting her lip.

Her mother, Louise, said: "She let out an almighty scream. There was blood everywhere, on my jeans and shirt, which traumatised Burgh even more."

The girl was later taken to hospital where she was treated for her injury.

Now the family is too scared to return to their favourite seaside spot in Woolacombe, Devon.

Louise, of Barnstaple, said: "Seagulls are always hanging around trying to get at people's food, but I've never seen anything like this vicious.

"We saw it on the beach and thought it was doing that usual seagull thing of standing around, hoping we'd throw it a few bits.

"We thought it would go away when it realised it wasn't going to get anything."

She added: "The seagull stood around as if it was mocking us,hoping to get the rest of the sausage."

An RSPB spokesman said: "Seagulls are scavengers and not shy. This sounds like an unfortunate, horrible collision."