Fury at man who kicked seagull

9:00am Tuesday 9th August 2011 in News Photograph of the Author Exclusive By James Connell

BIRDBRAIN: Gareth Brown, right, was arrested after he kicked a seagull. BIRDBRAIN: Gareth Brown, right, was arrested after he kicked a seagull.

POLICE had to escort a man from a crowd of people furious at seeing him kick a seagull into a shop window.

Gareth Brown had to be arrested for his own protection after he kicked the bird in the Shambles in Worcester, sparking an angry public outcry. Brown, aged 45, of London Road, Worcester, who suffers from depression, admitted a section five public order when he appeared before magistrates in Worcester on Monday.

Section five public order involves “using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour within hearing or sight of another likely to be caused harassment alarm or distress”.

The incident happened on Saturday, July 23 and was witnessed by two police officers.

Mark Johnson, prosecuting, said: “It’s a rather unusual case. A seagull was seen to swoop low over other people, including some children. The seagull appears to be coming in to land. The defendant than kicks it with a great deal of force and it thereafter hits a shop window and lands on the pavement, stunned.

“The crowd is somewhat incensed by what has gone on and the police have to remove this gentleman for his own safety. It caused a great deal of excitement and distress in the crowd.”

Mr Johnson said some people believed the animal was concussed and the gull was seen to be limping when it began moving again.

Rebecca Connolly, defending, said: “He now accepts it was an extremely stupid thing to do. A few weeks ago a seagull had tried to take an ice cream from his daughter. He saw a five or six-year-old child and saw the seagull heading towards the child and it came back to him what had happened to his own daughter and he lashed out at the seagull.”

Brown also admitted failing to surrender to custody (bail act offences) on August 2 and August 5 when he failed to turn up at court.

Miss Connolly said Brown, who claims £108 a fortnight on jobseeker’s allowance, had recently come off anti-depressants after using them for four years, which had caused him to get confused.

Magistrates fined Brown £50 for kicking the seagull and ordered him to pay £85 prosecution costs. They gave him an absolute discharge for both bail act offences.

Comments(31)

one94 says...
9:25am Tue 9 Aug 11

NO WAY!!!
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This is an outrage! I have often had the need to kick or otherwise deflect pigeons from hitting myself or partner when walking through Worcetser city centre. If it had been a seagull I would have doen the same.
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Shame on the council for not doing more to rid Worcester of these flying rodents. They are pests and should be treated as such!
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I strongly support Mr Brown and the action he took and I'm staggered beyond belief that the police felt the need to make a crime out of it!

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robo33 says...
9:59am Tue 9 Aug 11

what colour was it black or white could have caused a riot

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robo33 says...
10:07am Tue 9 Aug 11

get a soliciter to get the seagull to go to the human rights court

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robo33 says...
10:08am Tue 9 Aug 11

get a soliciter to get the seagull to go to the human rights court

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robo33 says...
10:08am Tue 9 Aug 11

get a soliciter to get the seagull to go to the human rights court

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BanjoLegs says...
10:36am Tue 9 Aug 11

I have no problem with him kicking such vermin providing he ensured it was dead afterwards.
The local authority should pay a bounty of £5 for every seagull eradicated.

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The_Real_Brooksider says...
4:57pm Tue 9 Aug 11

They're not seagulls, there's no such thing as a seagull, its a gull, probably a Herring Gull. Nasty opportunistic scavengers that will eat anything, and attack anything to get hold of food. If they hone in on a child carrying food, they won't stop at biting and scratching to get it, and they can do some real damage. I don't blame the guy for kicking it away.

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DarrenM says...
6:38pm Tue 9 Aug 11

The Euro tanks, the stock market tanks, riots all over the country and the good old evening news leads with "man kicks seagull"

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molecat says...
7:43pm Tue 9 Aug 11

Photo caption...BIRDBRAIN: Gareth Brown, right, was arrested after he kicked a seagull.
I'm glad you pointed out he's the guy on the right. I might have thought one of the wheelie bins had done it otherwise.

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Lee Smith Dip.rsa says...
9:24pm Tue 9 Aug 11

the country is not in grip of fear at the use of excessive force on gulls (no such thing as a seagull, as rightly pointed out) - surely the impact of world economy on the local stage, (resulting in unemployment, which is slightly different to dole-dossers, make that clear, right?), or the rising tide of insurgence are greater concerns. worse crimes have been reported in this paper, and they don't make page 1. daily mail, much?

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Biggles says...
10:59pm Tue 9 Aug 11

I fail to understand the "crime" here.
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Kill as many as you want, I'm sick and tired of cleaning their mess off my car.
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I agree with the comment earlier, the council should pay for each carcass presented to them

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ajm123 says...
11:31pm Tue 9 Aug 11

Man kicks seagull - Magistrates fine him £85 plus £50.... Man burns poppies on rememberance sunday - Magistrates fine him £50... What?

There is no crime here. The seagulls in the city of Worcester are a menace and the sooner the council/authorities do something to clean them up and GET rid of them, the better. They attack people, leave mess everywhere, and disturb the peace and quiet.

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Woozlepops says...
12:58am Wed 10 Aug 11

Sky Rats - As much as they're a nuisance I wouldn't kick one. We pay the council enough for them to fund some kind of resettlement package. I've heard Hereford is quite nice......

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JBLM2008 says...
8:22am Wed 10 Aug 11

Are you kidding me?! getting the council to rid the city of gulls IN THE SKY! what do you want them to do put a big net or dome over Worcester to stop them flying about. They're doing what they think is natural and a normal instinct, is it nice when they swoop on kids/other people for food? no it's not but that's no excuse for kicking an innocent animal when the guy only THOUGHT the gull was going to take something from the child.
Get a grip on reality there is nothing you can do about them it would be impossible to keep them out of the city or the sky so get things in perspective and open your eyes to what's really important!

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robo33 says...
11:43am Wed 10 Aug 11

if something had been done years ago before they started opening rubish dumps the gulls came up the estury following the food most have never seen the sea so why was the problem not adressed then

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Scribbledogg says...
12:05pm Wed 10 Aug 11

Oh My Days!!!...Seagulls will only go where there is an abundance of food...as a society we are quite untidy with our rubbish...you do the maths!

If we all tidied up and taught our children to be tidier then maybe the seagulls would go and bother someone else?....just a thought

oh as for kicking it....the man is vile!!...got what he deserved!

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old bus says...
12:26pm Wed 10 Aug 11

For gods sake it was just a dirty bird he kicked not a child some people need to get a grip let the Punishment fit the crime we all bleat on about crime and when this sort of thing happens all you do is call for the rope.

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one94 says...
1:04pm Wed 10 Aug 11

Would all the people who have left comments saying kicking the bird was the worng thing to do kindly take the time to explain how they would have prevented the incoming bird from causing injury to the child.
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I'll happily consider any sensible suggestions that hasa hope of working and can be practically applied in the spliit seconds needed to make the decision.
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shouting and waving your arms doesnt work by the way - gulls are very determined when they decide they want something. Have you ever tried waving your arms at a wasp - doesn't do much does it, until you finally connect and then iot buzzes off!

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scott.hannaford says...
2:36pm Wed 10 Aug 11

@one94
We only have his word that the gull was heading for the child... do you not think that maybe this was an excuse he made up after having time to think up a reason for kicking out?

The other thing to think about - apparently this chap is not an ex-football pro, so he probably didn't have the skill to kick the gull in a chose direction... imagine how much it would have hurt had he kicked it at you...

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JBLM2008 says...
3:11pm Wed 10 Aug 11

one94 wrote:
Would all the people who have left comments saying kicking the bird was the worng thing to do kindly take the time to explain how they would have prevented the incoming bird from causing injury to the child. . I'll happily consider any sensible suggestions that hasa hope of working and can be practically applied in the spliit seconds needed to make the decision. . shouting and waving your arms doesnt work by the way - gulls are very determined when they decide they want something. Have you ever tried waving your arms at a wasp - doesn't do much does it, until you finally connect and then iot buzzes off!
it didn't actually injure the child! it didn't do anything to the child except swoop down to land ....

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JBLM2008 says...
3:14pm Wed 10 Aug 11

As for your comparison to a wasp, if you flap your arms around like a lunatic you'll more than likely get stung, if you do it's what those insects do THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND OUCH AND PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! leave things that are more defenceless than you alone and perhaps get some anger management from your GP

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Scribbledogg says...
4:14pm Wed 10 Aug 11

if the seagull was kicked like a football then it must have been on the ground...(unless the man was a very talented football player)....how is that acceptable?

the crux of this story is the fact the man kicked an animal, maybe a pest, but still an animal.

i wouldnt kick my neigbours cat if it scratched me...or kick my dog if it started playing abit over enthusiastically with me.

To all the people who say 'good on him' and that this is an over dramatic response...what the hell are we teaching our kids???...

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CYNIC_AL says...
8:31pm Wed 10 Aug 11

The seagull was unavailable for comment as the WN went to press...

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tub_thumper says...
9:36pm Thu 11 Aug 11

... because it was probably dead from being kicked by this pathetic excuse of a man...

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batchelorboy says...
11:48pm Thu 11 Aug 11

Have you seen the size of these gulls lately??? If he kicked it full force I'm sure it would've hurt his foot! The prosecutor said "The defendant than kicks it with a great deal of force and it thereafter hits a shop window and lands on the pavement, stunned". Define 'great deal of force' and how did you determine the bird was stunned, and not flabergasted or in fact just very embarrassed?? Did it clamber to it's feet and mumble "Ooo ... bloody hell ... what happened there?". What probably happened is the guy 'kinda' kicked it, which is probably all he'd be able to do if it the bird was still "coming in to land", or just happened to make contact as he swung his foot in the general direction of the incoming bird, and happened to make good enough contact to deflect the bird into a window where it, obviously, flapped to the floor in confusion. Then maybe someone nearest to where the bird landed, who probably didn't see what actually happened, started up a defence for the bird and everyone would just jump on the band-wagon crying out "he kicked it, he kicked it". Of course, we know how quickly the British jump on the band-wagon if it's for something that makes them look good!

I've never ever seen anyone in town suddenly stop and admire a gull for it's beauty and bold stance, or congratulate it's pure arrogance and determination to get that chip by the bin!

What surprises me most about this article is the fact that it's caused an actual argument, like the whole saga has had an actual impact on society.

The plonker kicked a bird, got caught doing it and got a fine which he'll only have to pay back pennies a week. What's the fuss about? And why do we need to know that he's recently come off anti-depressants?? And why did his doctor keep prescribing them if they made him confused??? Aaargghh!

Oh and the comment about what we are teaching our children... I can't begin to imagine what you think of the parents of the recent looters!

This is crap news!

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JBLM2008 says...
8:31am Fri 12 Aug 11

ok then how about someone kicks you for walking or even running down the street? you'd be furious and call the police be in the WN etc etc so why is it ok to kick a defenceless animal, regardless of whether they're elegant or not it shouldn't be done. Simple as.

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moonpig says...
1:17pm Fri 12 Aug 11

How would people feel if he had kicked a rat? These are just flying rats. He didn't kill it so I can't see the fuss.

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batchelorboy says...
1:44pm Fri 12 Aug 11

I didn't make reference to ellegance as an argument to make the guys actions sound OK. I'm simply saying that I don't see any love for gulls when I'm in the city centre and don't understand why the sudden love for them on here!

And why would me being kicked by someone else appear in the WN?? If I was kicked in the sense that I was 'beaten' by a kicking then of course I would call the police. But this bird was not 'beaten', and based on the fact that there is no mention of actual injury to the bird (apart from a possible limp which may have happened months ago from flying into a car or whatever) me being kicked in the street is not the same.

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jovialcommonsense says...
2:48pm Fri 12 Aug 11

Surely it's self control that is the issue. How long before a child is kicked? How long before an old person is kicked?
How long is it before involvement in looting and fire raising?
Antisocial behaviour needs nipping in the bud.

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Imperial Leather says...
9:51pm Fri 12 Aug 11

For the record, I like seagulls! They are natures bin men!

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BanjoLegs says...
3:24pm Mon 15 Aug 11

Imperial Leather wrote:
For the record, I like seagulls! They are natures bin men!
Except bin men don't tend to have a dump on your car after taking away your rubbish!

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