Serial burglar jailed after 4am raid is foiled by flock of angry seagulls

A SERIAL burglar has been jailed after his latest raid was foiled by a flock of angry seagulls.

Casey McDonnell disturbed the resting birds as he crept into a back garden at 4.14am.

Neil Hope

Magistrates watched footage of a fleeing McDonnell flailing his arms in the air to try to protect his head from the seagulls[/caption]

CCTV footage from the home captured the herring gulls flying up into the air — then swooping down on McDonnell, 40, as he tried to open a back door.

He looked frightened by the sight of the noisy and aggressive birds — who then launched a sustained aerial assault on him.

Magistrates watched footage of a fleeing McDonnell flailing his arms in the air to try to protect his head and face from the gulls’ razor-sharp beaks.

Police said the homeowners’ CCTV film helped them identify McDonnell as the prowler in the Blackpool suburb of Cleveleys, Lancs, on July 30 this year.

McDonnell — who was on licence from prison at the time — admitted attempted burglary and was jailed for 12 weeks by JPs in Blackpool.

The court heard how McDonnell, of Blackpool, has a long criminal record which includes more than two dozen burglary offences.