A shop manager is fuming after being given a fine after his rubbish was stolen by a seagull.

Dana Dinho, manager at the aptly named Seagulls Food and Wine, left his rubbish outside to be collected by a private refuse company. However, council officers found some of the rubbish strewn across the street with a broken bin bag.

After being given a £300 fine for leaving rubbish in the street, Dana checked his CCTV cameras to find the culprit – a seagull which had hauled the rubbish from its pile and onto the pavement.

Dana, 36, said: “I was just trying to do the right thing. Only half of the rubbish was taken and then suddenly a seagull took one of the bags.

“I was shocked when I saw the video. It’s so bad and this has never happened to me before.

“Small businesses can’t afford it. I’m frustrated with the council ripping me off, it’s like they don’t care about small businesses.”

Dana says that he wants the council to rescind the fine in light of the brazen bird’s actions.

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He added that he has not been targeted by the seagulls before in the four years that he has managed the shop.

Environmental enforcement officers can issue a Fixed Penalty Notice of £300 if a Waste Transfer Note or Duty of Care Certificate is not produced.

The notice is a document which shows that the duty of care for the waste has been transferred from the business to the waste collector.

Brighton and Hove City Councillor Tim Rowkins, lead councillor for the environment, said: “We have sympathy for this shop keeper, but marauding seagulls are part of living in Brighton & Hove.

“And if you use a bin bag that can be ripped open by a seagull, then you just have to clear up the mess. This applies to individual householders as well as business owners.

“Businesses have a legal duty to ensure they store their waste in a way that ensures pests and vermin cannot get at it. They should be using hessian sacks or putting binbags in dustbins.

“The council is trying very hard to keep the city clean and making sure that traders are fulfilling their responsibilities is part of our work to tidy up our streets.

“We take action in line with our agreed environmental protection policies when businesses fail in their legal duties in this regard.”