A 'feral' killer seagull has been butchering Plumstead pigeons before feasting on their dead bodies, it is claimed.

Residents near Plumstead Common claim the violent bird has been picking off an average of four unfortunate pigeons per day.

Aine McGrillen raised the alarm on the Plumstead People Facebook page, saying: "We are trying to figure out if it is just one feral seagull or if this is a group of them. Is this usual seagull behaviour?"

She wrote: "It killed one in Barnfield Gardens car park this morning, then flew off with it in its beak. Imagine if that dropped on your head!

"I guess it is just nature doing its survival thing. It is quite tense when you watch it just hanging out with the pigeons, casual as anything and then he picks his mark and swoops in."

News Shopper:

Stock image of a seagull killing a pigeon

Other neighbours claimed the bloodthirsty bird has a voracious appetite and has been menacing the bird population for several years, once "munching" through 10 in one night.

Kirsty Wilson wrote: "It was doing it a couple weeks back and killed about 10 in one night.

"For 3-5 days every morning when I'd leave for work at 5 I'd see him there, then when I returned still be there, just munching away at the pigeons! Never seen such a sight before."

And Emma Ledgerwood chimed in: "It's been doing it for over two years and kills at least four pigeons a day. 

"It's awful to watch for the pigeons' sake but I suppose it's all nature's ways of keeping the population down."

But Gordon Guthrie had little sympathy for the pigeons. He wrote: "Seagulls are carnivores. What is worse when you're at the seaside and they pinch the kiddies' ice cream or stalk you for chips."

This is not  the first time a killer seagull has made headlines. Last October a Hyde Park bird was accused of drowning pigeons in the Serpentine before devouring them.

Amateur photographer Johanna van de Woestijne, 57, told Mail Online: "It was one of the most violent things I have ever seen. After it happened I felt I had witnessed a murder.

"I’ve seen him hunting pigeons on two separate days, both times he picked them off, dragged them into the lake and drowned them."

Have you seen the scary seagull? Call the newsroom on 01689 885714 or email mchandler@london.newsquest.co.uk