Firefighters, police and the RSPCA closed a street and used an extension ladder to rescue a baby seagull trapped on a roof.
Emergency services were called after the stricken bird was trapped in a gutter and appeared distressed.
Witnesses said the street in Plymouth, Devon, was shut down as a huge rescue operation was launched to help the gull at around 7pm yesterday.
It was eventually freed by fire crews and after being checked over by the RSPCA it flew off.
One neighbour, who asked not to be named, questioned whether the scale of the rescue was proper use of taxpayers money, with the operation thought to have cost more than £1,000.
Emergency services were called after the stricken bird was trapped in a gutter and appeared distressed
Witnesses said the street in Plymouth, Devon, was shut down as a huge rescue operation was launched to help the bird
It was eventually freed by fire crews and after being checked over by the RSPCA it was allowed to fly off
They said: ‘It was really unusual to see our entire road closed for a seagull to be rescued.
‘There was one concerned family in the street. It was on one house and then went over to a neighbour’s one.
‘The family first called the RSPCA and 24 hours later the fire brigade showed up. They used a ladder, like a suspension crane, to get it down.’
They added: ‘The total cost to the taxpayer to save a baby seagull must have been quite high.
‘They went up in a crane and closed the road with bollards. The bird didn’t come at once and it had to be poked and went crazy.
‘A woman from the fire brigade then grabbed it and put it in a box and gave it to the RSPCA.
A firefighter stands in the road as the truck lifts up his colleague to attend to the stricken bird
The bird is pictured sitting in the gutter where it got trapped and had to be rescued by emergency services
‘They checked it over to make sure it didn’t have a broken wing or any issues and eventually it was let loose.
‘I don’t think this is a good use of taxpayers’ money and I think most people would agree.
‘They could have just let this baby seagull do its thing and I am sure it would have flown off by itself eventually.’
It comes despite calls for seagulls to be culled after a series of high profile vicious attacks on adults, children and pets.
Last summer Emily Vincent, 40, from Cornwall, told how she was left traumatised when her eight-year-old Yorkshire Terrier was savaged by a gull in her back garden.
Roo suffered a head wound and brain damage after the attack in July 2015, believed to have been caused by the birds protecting a nest.
Just two days later her two-year-old daughter Jessie was also targeted by the same deadly gull gang.
And last July Becca Hill, 24, and her daughter, six, were left distraught after a seagull swooped down and took their dog Gizmo in Paignton, Devon.
Emily Vincent, 40, of St Columb Minor, Cornwall, revealed her two-year-old daughter Jessie (left, with facial injuries from the seagull attack) was attacked by a deadly pack of seagulls just days after they killed her Yorkshire Terrier Roo (right)
Last July Becca Hill was left distraught after Gizmo the Chihuahua was taken from her garden in Devon
In the last 20 years the number of seagulls in the UK has doubled, despite ones at the seaside declining due to reduced habitat and the decline of the fishing industry.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds estimated last year there were 730,000 individual gulls in Britain.
There has also been a rise in the number of patients needing treatment after being attacked by gulls, according to the Mayor of Worcester City Council Alan Amos.
A 2015 YouGov poll found 44 per cent of the country would support a cull on the birds, with just 36 per cent against.
The survey came as then Prime Minister David Cameron called for a ‘big conversation’ on the subject.
But nothing came of it, despite a 2017 parliamentary debate spearheaded by the then MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport Oliver Sutton.
Seagulls can only be killed by people who have a licence and are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
Lawbreakers can get a six-month prison sentence or fined £5,000 if they slay the animal illegally.
A spokesman for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said: ‘The RSPCA requested our attendance after a report of a seagull stuck in guttering at Garfield Terrace, Plymouth, just after 7pm on Sunday evening.
‘A fire appliance and aerial ladder platform attended and the platform was used by firefighters to retrieve the bird.
‘We attend bird rescues on request from the RSPCA, if a bird is in distress or members of the public are finding it distressing watching a bird in pain.
‘We would rather attend and rescue the bird than a member of the public put themselves or others at risk by attempting a rescue themselves.’
MailOnline has approached Devon and Cornwall Police and the RSPCA for comment.