'Blood everywhere' after vicious seagull attack as Scots woman rushed to hospital
A woman was rushed to hospital with a head wound after she was attacked - by a seagull.
Lesley Wright, 70, was left with a bleeding scalp that required medical attention after the unprovoked attack by the bird.
She was walking to a neighbour's house in Moray when the gull swooped in from behind and hit her in the back of the head, leaving her dazed and in pain.
Lesley was left with a scar and a bald patch - and is questioning why seagulls are a protected species.
"I felt an almighty whack on the back of my head," said Lesley.
"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."
The attack occurred near the home of Selina Ho, a lash technician who Lesley had been intending to visit.
Lesley, wanting to avoid bleeding in Selina's home, attempted to call her - but thankfully, a bystander intervened and knocked on her door.
Selina brought Lesley water, a chair, and some towels to mop up the blood, and the pair waited in the street for a moment before rushing to Dr. Gray's Hospital in Elgin.
"I didn't want to go into Selina's house with my head dripping with blood and get blood everywhere, so I tried to phone her to come out," said Lesley.
"At that point, a lady came out of her car to check I was alright, and she went in and got Selina, who came out with water and a towel and a chair to sit down on.
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"We sat there until the bleeding stopped, and then Selina looked at it and said I'd better go to hospital to get it seen to, especially with it being a seagull.
"She drove us to the accident and emergency department, where they glued it together.
"It was quite a small cut, but with a head wound, they bleed a lot."
Thankfully, the wound did not require stitches - but Lesley was left with a scar and a bald patch, which is now growing back.
Lesley says the attack has left her wary and uneasy around gulls - and she has begun to question why the species is protected.
"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," she said. "I'm very wary around seagulls 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."
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