Pat Worsley says she uses an umbrella as a shield now

The bird attacked Pat Worsley, from Folkestone, as she arrived home from the shops.

Now Mrs Worsley and her friend use umbrellas to shield them because they are afraid the seagulls will attack again.

She said: "I saw this gull come off the roof and start swooping down.

'Quite horrific'

"It hit me with its beak right on the top of my head and when I put my hand up and took it down it was full of blood.

"I was really frightened to go out of the door for about three days."

Mrs Worsley said she thinks the bird targeted her because it had three baby gulls on the roof which it may have been trying to protect.

Now her neighbour Wyn Elgar has organised a petition to try and get something done about the number of birds.

Protected species

She said: "Following this attack on Pat - which was quite horrific - like a Hitchcock film - I decided the best way to approach it was to have a petition.

"If they are not going to cull them as such if we know where they are nesting they could come and remove the nests."

Andrew Murphy, environmental health manager for Shepway District Council said: "The first thing is that they are a protected species.

"It could be done under licence but we need to have a justifiable reason to do it."