Fire crews rescued a black backed gull trapped on a spike in Margate after a call from Kent Wildlife Rescue volunteer Shelia Stone yesterday (July 4).
Sheila, who is also a British Divers Marine Life Rescue medic, was contacted by the wildlife service yesterday morning to try and help the bird which was impaled by its wing on the Morrisons supermarket building.
Sheila had to ask fire crews for assistance after being unable to reach the gull.
She said: “I was called by Kent Wildlife Rescue Service and went and had a look but couldn’t reach it.
“I called the fire brigade and initially they wouldn’t come out as the RSPCA weren’t there but I told them I was with KWRS and they were there in 5 minutes.
“I explained I had a cage and would take it into rescue. They were really good.”
The gull was caged and taken on to the KWRS centre in Sheppey.
Sheila said: “Its flight feathers were damaged but it seemed ok. It’s on pain relief and the wing has been strapped so it should make a full recovery.
“It’s a black backed gull and they are quite rare. The bird was caught on the roof spikes. Fireman said it was really entangled. The poor thing had been there since about 9.30am and I got called at about 11.45am and went straight out.”
A Kent Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “Kent Fire and Rescue Service was called at 11.54am to reports of a bird trapped in netting at a supermarket in College Walk, Margate. One fire engine attended and crews used ladders to rescue a seagull, which had caught its wing on a spike, before passing it into the care of a wildlife warden.”
The crew finished at the scene ay 12.24pm.
