Great Western Coffee Shop

Cornwall seagull sips man's coffee before stealing his mug

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A gull has taken revenge on a man who was installing anti-bird spikes in a Cornish town - by drinking his coffee and pinching his mug.

Maintenance worker Darren Pardoe had been bird proofing houses in Porthleven when he stopped at a pub for a coffee on 3 June. He said he had been talking to someone before he turned around to find the gull helping himself to the hot brew. Before he could take action, the feathered thief flew off with the mug. "I think it had remembered me," he joked.

Recalling the coffee heist, Mr Pardoe said: "I turn round and sure enough a seagull's got its beak in my coffee... next minute the bird picks up the coffee cup by its handle and takes off across the harbour with it. It flew round the harbour and then landed on the water, put the cup down, and the cup just sank."

Mr Pardoe captured a photo of the bird in flight with his coffee mug.