Like the opening to a disaster movie, fire engines raced to the scene, traffic backed up and people stared at the top of the building and gasped.

Fire officers marked out an exclusion zone and police accident signs were put up to warn motorists of danger ahead.

And the cause of the mayhem which brought Worthing town centre to a virtual standstill yesterday?

A hapless young seagull impaled on anti-pigeon spikes.

Assistant divisional officer Peter Martin wiped beads of sweat from his brow as he co-ordinated the mission to save the bird, knowing a wrong decision could be the difference between life and death.

The clumsy bird had attracted more attention than it bargained for when it got trapped on the roof of the Guildbourne Centre.

Sue Gregory, 36, of Avondale Close, Worthing, had called the fire brigade after noticing the bird's plight.

One fire crew arrived, sealed off the area below the building and decided to call for back-up.

A second crew then followed with an aerial ladder platform.

Firefighter Andy Gilbert went up in the platform with a rescuer from Worthing animal charity Wadars to free the bird. It was then spirited off in an animal ambulance as the crowd of almost 200 people breathed a sigh of relief.

The bird has since been given a clean bill of health and will be released back into the wild.