I was saddened to read the article about seagulls (The Argus, August 18) and, in particular, the opinion of Ken Bodfish that seagulls are simply "rats with wings".

What a great shame the leader of Brighton and Hove City Council has such a narrow and exclusive outlook regarding the magic of natural life.

Seagulls did not "come from the sea" as suggested in your article. No bird can nest or bring up their young "at sea".

They have inhabited the coastline just as long as man and have an equal right to be here, since they were created just as equally and miraculously as mankind.

Seagulls are by nature opportunists (ie smart) and this is why they share our habitat and amusingly (if messily) rip open black rubbish sacks. Who wouldn't move into a location supplying such easy pickings?

This is one of the aims of Mr Bodfish's own council. One cannot blame the gulls for moving in, when their natural feeding grounds (the seas) are being seriously and life-threateningly depleted by man's greed and self-centred outlook. The only reason for the "sack attacks" is survival and feeding the family.

Gulls keep their plumage in pristine condition and they look dazzling in the sunlight. They are extremely inventive, for example in the way they drop seashells from a height on to the surface of Black Rock car park - when it has emptied - to extract the tasty contents.

They are comical and beautiful to watch wheeling through the skies or congregating in social groups along the shoreline.

They even look interesting marching along the side streets looking for scraps of fast food or carousing around their families on the chimney pots where I live.

Their social language is rich and varied. The huge efforts they make to look after and protect their young (which is the only reason people are ever "attacked" by gulls) would put many of the human population of this country to shame.

-Caroline Ellis, Brighton