'Seagull Boy', nine, wins European screeching competition

2 days ago
By Caroline Lowbridge,
BBC News, East Midlands

{I had to snip the video, but don't miss it.}

A nine-year-old British boy has won a European championship with his uncanny impression of a seagull. ... Cooper, from Chesterfield in Derbyshire, travelled to the Belgian coastal town of De Panne to compete in the EC Gull Screeching competition.

He originally started doing seagull impressions after being nipped by one while he was eating a tuna sandwich. ... He wanted to become "Seagull Boy", like when Peter Parker became Spider-Man after being bitten by a spider.

"I feel like they are a really nice animal, I like them because of their noise," said Cooper. ... "Sometimes they can be a bit scary and I'm still a bit wary of eating at the beach, so that's why I eat in a small tent. ... "The last meal I had at the beach was an ice cream."


Family photo. The EC Gull Screeching competition is held every year in an attempt to change the image of seagulls, which some people see as a nuisance

{snip}

Cooper took his lucky mascot with him - a small model seagull which he calls Stephen and spells with a "ph", but his parents call Steven Seagull, like the actor Steven Seagal. ... His parents and grandparents were there to support him, as was his sister Shelby, who had a big cone of chips made from foam.


Family photo. Cooper's sister Shelby was there to support him with a cone of foam chips

{snip}