A holidaymaker has been accused of grabbing a seagull out of the air then punching it to death after it snatched his pasty.
Outraged locals posted pictures of the man claiming he killed the innocent seagull in St Ives, Cornwall yesterday in revenge for trying to steal his savoury treat, as police urged anybody with CCTV footage to come forward.
Rosie Reynolds was working at a boat tour stall when the man attacked the bird right in front of her.
She said: ‘He was walking with his wife and child and the gull just swooped down and stole his pasty.
‘He just grabbed it and had its head in his hand and punched it hard in the chest. It was sort of held in his arm so it couldn’t escape.
‘After three or four punches the bird went limp then he threw it to the ground where it just lay there, it was still alive but its chest cavity was caved in and I think it just went off to die.
‘I went over and berated him as did some other people, I said “you can’t do that, its illegal” and his wife said the same, I think she was shocked, I asked if he’d do the same to a child who stole an ice cream but he just called me a cow and told me to f*** off.
The man who is alleged to have punched the seagull was quickly identified online as pro-Palestine advocate Jonathan ‘Jonny’ Roberts from Bradford, Yorkshire
‘I’m just so shocked, tourists sometimes kick out at the seagulls but this is the worst I’ve ever seen.
‘I recognised his picture straight away on Facebook, I know several people have reported him to police and I hope they can deal with him properly.’
A takeaway owner who didn’t want to be named served the man just before he attacked the gull said it actually snatched a fish burger.
He said: ‘I just remember the guy was really rude, his wife seemed lovely but he was just demanding and said he needed to drive back to Yorkshire as soon as he could.’
Another witness Pauly Ford posted on Facebook: ‘Just witnessed a ‘man’ grab a seagull that had knocked the pasty out of his hand and punched the bird twice really, really hard. This was at the harbour.
‘The bird wasn’t able to fly away and a lady at the sea island boat trips picked it up to look after, sadly the bird had a big hole in its chest so will likely not survive.
‘Not sure what to do about this, we have a picture of the guy after killing a seagull because he’s an idiot is there anything we can do. Surely the police will want to know.’
The man was quickly identified online as pro-Palestine advocate Jonathan ‘Jonny’ Roberts from Bradford, Yorkshire.
The man pictured was wearing a cream coloured ‘Fistral’ hoodie and a grey Under Armour cap.
A now deleted picture posted on social media by Mr Roberts appears to show him in nearby Penzance wearing exactly the same outfit this week with the comment ‘just appreciating time away with my family’.
Herring gulls are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, offenders can face unlimited fines and up to six months in prison
In one post, including several pictures of Mr Roberts walking in the popular seaside town, a witness claimed: ‘This man grabbed a seagull out the air and punched it to death then booted it.
‘Happened in a busy street by the harbour in front of about 30 people including children.
‘My two-year-old is scarred. Absolutely disgusting to see.’
Herring gulls are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, offenders can face unlimited fines and up to six months in prison.
Now police are appealing for information about the alleged attack.
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: ‘We are appealing for witnesses and footage following a report of a seagull being attacked in St Ives.
‘Devon & Cornwall Police received a third hand report about the incident which is said to have taken place on the seafront on the afternoon of Wednesday 10 June.
‘Social media posts stated that a man punched and beat a seagull.
‘Despite posts being widely shared online, the matter was not reported to us by anyone present at the scene.’
