A sandwich shop is offering customers an optional £1 ‘seagull insurance’ on orders because ‘super aggressive and scary’ birds steal up to 30 toasties a day.
The owners of the Cheesy Toast Shack in St. Andrews, Scotland used to give away free replacements of the £6.75 sandwiches to dozens of customers every day.
Customers would buy a snack, take a picture of it outside to post on social media – then come back in the shop seconds later when their toastie had been pinched by a gull.
But it was costing the business hundreds of pounds a day and bosses were ‘desperate’ for a solution.
Because of rising costs and the increasing frequency of seagull attacks, the family-run business is adding an optional £1 ‘gull insurance’ to pay for replacement sandwiches.
Tourist Erica Campbell is swooped on by seagulls while eating her cheesy toasty
Kate Carter-Larg of the Cheesy Toasty Shack in St Andrews, Fife. She said the seagulls are ‘actually terrifying’
Kate Carter-Larg, 35, said: ‘The gulls are super aggressive and actually terrifying.
‘We are a family-run business and I can’t just sit and watch a sandwich get stolen and not replace it, so I’ll always give another for free.
‘But it is really an issue and it’s been costing us a lot of money – people are even left bleeding after the gulls swoop for the food!
‘We get old women emailing us saying: ‘I’ve nearly rolled my ankle because of seagulls’, we have children crying too from it.
‘People will come to take photos of our sandwiches – and the minute they hold toastie up for a pic – all the seagulls dive bomb them.
A seagull grabs a paper bag full of food. According to the owners of the Cheesy Toasty Shack, the problem is getting worse
The £1 insurance is to enable to the family-run business to afford to replace the stolen food
‘People left bleeding, they really are a problem.’
Ms Carter-Larg’s husband Sam, 39, came up with the idea of the optional payment so the business could afford replacements.
But the owners said they are now ‘seriously considering’ adding the gull insurance on every purchase to try and cover the losses caused by the winged pests.
Ms Carter-Larg added: ‘Our business is super family-run, Sam and I run it, our kids are here almost every day, Sam’s cousin works in the kitchen and everyone knows everyone.
‘It’s not just a faceless business and we want people to remember nice gestures people do.’
The sandwiches are £6.75 and Ms Carter-Larg said she feels responsible to ensure people get what they purchased, especially during difficult financial times.
She added: ‘If someone has come down to eat with us, treat themselves and families for the week or even for the month, it’s a big deal.
‘In the summer people are sometimes waiting up to an hour as it is a really really busy shop.
The owners said they are now ‘seriously considering’ adding the gull insurance on every purchase to try and cover the losses caused by the winged pests
Sam Larg and Kate Carter-Larg of the Cheesy Toasty Shack in St Andrews, Fife. Sam came up with the idea of insurance
‘So I can’t sit and watch it get stolen – it’s such a horrible thing to happen, especially if it is a child.’
Ms Carter-Larg admits the seagull attacks have been ‘increasingly’ worse over the last three years.
They have received emails from upset customers and children have been in tears.
Kate and Sam have made various attempts to deter the gulls.
They tried playing birds of prey noises and they also bought a bird of prey kite on Amazon.
A seagull is pictured swooping behind a man who is eating his food on the beach
The Cheesy Toast Shack was set up in 2015 originally as a street food trailer, travelling around festivals across the country
The couple say they have exhausted almost every option, ‘apart from shooting them’.
Ms Carter-Larg said: ‘The bird noises were not the vibe we ideally wanted down at the beach, and the bird kite we bought didn’t do anything – people will sit under them and the gulls will still keep attacking, we have been lost for what else we can do.’
The Cheesy Toast Shack was set up in 2015 originally as a street food trailer, travelling around festivals across the country.
Their St Andrews Kiosk was then installed in 2018, the same year Sam and Kate had their children.
As well as their famous toasties, they also sell ice creams, coffees, milkshakes, cakes and merchandise.
