It's that crazy time of year again, the seagulls' nesting season, when the tempers of humans and seagulls alike are short.

Residents in Mafeking Road, Brighton, say they are being attacked by gulls nesting on top of their homes and also claim a neighbourhood cat was pecked to death (The Argus, July 2).

The cat, a stray, was found dead underneath a van and a resident said: "It hadn't been run over and looked like it had been pecked at."

This is imagination running riot, with seagulls named as the guilty party. Rooks, rats or an urban fox could have pecked at the cat - it's anybody's guess.

The chick that fell on to the pavement from its nest distressed the parent gulls and the dangerous moment Darren Dorrington described was simply the gulls worrying to get their chick back.

They didn't know what he was going to do with it but I can guarantee they left him alone after he put it back on the roof.

Seagulls' dive-bombing can be scary but let's remember all wildlife has some tactic to protect their young.

The nesting season doesn't last forever and seagulls are part and parcel of living on the coast. I suggest we share it with them.

-Gloria Wheatcroft, Hove