‘Seagull boy’, 9, screeches to victory in European squawk-off

A nine-year-old boy from Derbyshire has won a European seagull screeching championship after becoming obsessed with the birds and being able to impersonate their high-pitched squawk.

Cooper Wallace travelled from Chesterfield to the coastal town of De Panne, Belgium, to compete in the fourth annual competition, in which he had to perform the screech for a panel of judges.

Cooper scored 92 out of a possible 100 points for the uncanny impression on Sunday, giving him the top prize in the junior category.

Dressed in a full gull costume, he was asked to impersonate a range of emotions and when pretending to be hungry, his act included lunging at a fake cone of chips made from foam.

He was this year’s overall highest scorer after beating the adult winner, Simão João, by five points.

Cooper began doing the impressions after being bitten by one of the birds while eating a tuna sandwich, sparking his desire to become “seagull boy” in a similar way to Spider-Man.

He told the BBC: “I feel like they are a really nice animal, I like them because of their noise.

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“Sometimes they can be a bit scary and I’m still a bit wary of eating at the beach.”

His family, who attended the contest in support, initially described the impression as annoying before Cooper’s mother, Lauren, realised he had a talent for it.

The family heard about the European championship from a stranger who overheard Cooper doing the impression and suggested he should compete.

The gull-screeching contest – titled Meeuwenschreeuwen in Dutch – includes a category for under-16s, adults and “colonies”, which is for group impersonations of between two and five people.

A jury of gull enthusiasts awards points based on both the screeching sound as well as the contestant’s performance.

Cooper’s participation marks the first time a British person has entered the competition, which aims to reduce “friction” between humans and the birds as they continue to be viewed as a nuisance by most of the population.

Jan Seys, a marine biologist and the president of the judging panel, said: “[Wallace] managed to include several call types in his performance and each of them resembled a real seagull call in a most impressive way.

“In fact, for me, he was not only the best of the young participants, but of all those who took part in the championship.”

“Scientific observation” is needed to imitate the sound properly, according to the championship’s website, which also says that observing the birds will lead us to “care for them”.