Gull Running: The New Seaside Craze Where Teens Run Seagull Gauntlet Armed With Fish N’ Chips

It is a bizarre seaside craze that is quite literally taking off.

Instead of playing video games or tweeting, teens have taken to running along promenades holding food to see how far they can get before being attacked by seagulls.

The game, dubbed “gull running”, sees young people sprinting across seafronts with bags of fish and chips above their heads.

The aim is to reach one point as quickly as possible without being swooped upon by one of the hundreds of hungry seagulls that patrol the British coast.

Teenagers in the seaside town of Whitby in Yorkshire have been taking part in the craze, but participants have also been spotted in Brighton, Blackpool and Newquay.

It comes as the UK is engaged in something of a war against seagulls, who have been blamed in recent weeks for attacks on people and pets.

One of the gull runners in Whitby said: “It’s great fun. We choose two points, grab some food and run as fast as we can.

“The idea is to get to the end without a bird nabbing the chips. The winner is whoever can run the furthest without the seagull getting anything.”

Another said: “The seagulls are a pain around here and they’ll try and nick your food anyway so we might as well have some fun while they’re doing it. The tourists think it’s hilarious.”

(Pictures: South West News Service)