What a flap! Stricken seagull causes chaos

Residents and business owners feared the worst when crews arrived in their road.

But it was feathers, rather than flames, which had led the fire crews to this Cleveleys street.

A gull, trapped in netting since Saturday, was in need of rescue.

And Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service were called in to provide aerial support to the RSPCA.

Anchorsholme Lane East was closed to traffic while fire crews from Bispham and Blackpool, complete with an aerial ladder platform, carried out the rescue.

The incident happened at around 10.10am on Monday and caught the attention of business owners and residents.

Philip Clayton of the Footcare Clinic was among those who spotted the firefighters.

And he immediately assumed a major incident was unfolding.

He said: “Somebody came in and said there were lot of firefighters.

“We’re not short of drama down this street. In the past we’ve had a car go into a shop front.

“Straight away you think there’s something big happening.

“I soon realised that all this equipment and man power was being used to rescue one seagull caught under some wire netting on a chimney stack!

“You just can’t believe it.”

While not criticising the fire crews, Mr Clayton questioned the cost of mounting the rescue bid, which ended with the bird being sucessfully plucked from around a nest of chimneys.

He said: “You can understand if it’s a rare bird. But a gull? Most of the time people are saying they are a nuisance.

“Being an animal lover it was great to see the poor bird being rescued but wonder how much this cost? I believe that the fire engines must have cost a considerable amount.”

An RSPCA officer carried out the rescue and Lancashire Fire and Rescue said it had been asked to assist by the charity.

A spokesman said: “In the first instance an RSPCA officer will attend and assess whether they can carry out a rescue.

“In this instance our assistance was needed and crews from Blackpool and Bispham attended.

“The gull was rescued and taken away by the RSPCA.”

Nobody from the RSPCA was available for comment. It is not known whether the gull survived its rooftop ordeal.