A giant seabird has raised a few eyebrows after setting up home on a Sussex roof, hundreds of miles from its normal habitat.

The gannet is coming under fierce attack from seagulls after landing on a rooftop in the heart of Brighton.

Gannets, which have a 6ft wingspan, return from Morocco in North Africa in late winter and usually set up home in the craggy granite faces of Scotland.

But bird lover Connie Rubidge was amazed to see the bird appear opposite her flat in Eastern Road just over a week ago. Ever since, it has attracted the beady eyes of seagulls who gather in the same area and regularly divebomb the unwelcome arrival.

Mrs Rubidge watches the bird with binoculars from her flat opposite and has seen it nest but cannot tell if it has laid eggs.

She said: "I do not know how the bird got there, whether it got caught in a gale or something and was blown off course.

"The gannet has been divebombed. She has not left her nest for a while because of all the angry gulls.

"She might be taking food from the seagulls. They were going for her the other day and one was being very antagonistic.

"One of them has been walking along the roof and then goes halfway down and then the gannet stretches out and then maybe hisses so the bird goes away.

Mrs Rubidge, who is in her 60s, and is a former member of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, has been watching the action during the day.

She said: "She spends her days preening or adjusting her nest. They really are very big birds. It has become a bit of a talking point in the block of flats where I live and two or three people are very interested.

"This gannet has no mate and I think first of all she was looking for him. I have seen that she has changed her position recently, probably trying to get out of the wind, as it has been very windy.

"I do not know how long she will stay."

Mrs Rubidge is a lover of both birds and wildlife and follows wildlife documentaries on television.

She said: "I would like to go to the Falkland Islands eventually and look at the penguins. It is great when you go to these places and when you see them on TV because you get such spectacular close-up views."

Gannets can hit the water at speeds of up to 100km an hour.