‘The Wait for My First Chippy Continues’: A Man Lost His Fish and Chips to Seagulls in a Two-Second Window and the Internet Is in Tears

A man's lunch by the seaside ended up being a lesson on how to protect your food. A viral TikTok video posted by user @benitomottoh_ showed a man having his fish and chips taken by a group of seagulls! The video, which had the caption "The wait for my first chippy continues", had over 158,000 likes as of publication.

In the video, Mottoh seems to be sitting down on a pebble beach to eat a takeaway portion of fish and chips. However, the meal does not go as expected. When Mottoh is about to eat, the plastic packaging blows away from him, and he at first hesitates before getting up to get it.

That brief decision gives the seagulls an opening.

A bird approached the unattended food, followed quickly by others. When Mottoh returned, the container was empty and the birds had gone.

The incident led to some viewers being amused, and others being in disbelief. One X user shared a clip and wrote: "I'm in absolute tears omg." The comments also discussed whether the incident was just bad luck or instead a preventable result of leaving food unattended.

One commenter said, "I feel like he did that on purpose. Everyone knows what happens when you leave food unattended in an environment like that."

Another person joked about the birds, "They [messed the man] up." A third commenter wrote that the seagulls flying away looked as though they were 'screaming' with joy.

Seagull food theft is a well-documented issue in coastal towns across Britain. Fife Council advises not to leave food out for the gulls or to drop food scraps on the ground; easy access to food can lead the birds to gather in public areas.

Dorset Council also says gulls dive down and take food from people who are eating at the beaches and harbors. It recommends that visitors eat indoors or in protected spots rather than feeding the birds.

This is more noticeable during the breeding season, as Natural England has said that herring gulls and lesser black-backed gulls can become aggressive when they are nesting and raising their chicks.

So be careful if leaving your fish and chips unattended!