This seagull lost his home and his brother when council bosses uprooted the pair to start roof repairs on a block of flats.

Dubbed the Ryelands Two, the herring gull chicks won the hearts of residents after they were seen nesting on a roof in Ryelands Drive, Brighton, last month.

They urged council chiefs to delay the work until the chicks were old enough to fend for themselves.

But workmen climbed on to the roof and dislodged the two baby gulls using poles and nets.

One of the seagulls is believed to have fled and the Ryelands Two became one. The remaining gull is being cared for in captivity by pet shop owner Roger Mouselle.

Animal lover Rena Collins, of Dorset Gardens, said: "The council has been sly and underhand over this. We trusted them to leave the gulls alone but they abused that trust.

"It seems to me this all comes down to money. The council would not wait any longer because it would have cost them more. They preferred to rip a family apart."

Resident Shelia Groom said: "We searched for more than an hour for the other chick while the poor seagull parents flew overhead calling for them.

"How can Brighton and Hove Council get away with this cruel deed? I am sure it bends several laws."

Mr Mouselle, who owns Rogers Pets and Garden Centre in Warren Road, said: "It does seem a shame they had to do this. The thing had been dragging on for weeks and it had got to the stage where the council only had to wait another week or so and the chicks would have flown away by themselves. We hope the missing one did.

"I can understand that when the council is doing work on buildings they have to hire scaffolding which is expensive. But with a little foresight they could have avoided this situation. The birds are protected after all.

"To be honest, I don't see why they couldn't have worked round it. Parent seagulls do tend to swoop but it is mainly bravado and people rarely get hurt. A workman wearing a hard hat would be safe enough."

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove Council said: "We felt we could not wait any longer to start the work. It has been quite wet and we were anxious there was no leaking at the property.

"One of the chicks has been re-homed and the other one flew away. Experts say the eggs hatch at different times and the other one must have been more developed. The owner of the property has looked out for it and it hasn't come back so it has obviously flown the nest."