Families living in a posh London neighbourhood are being invaded by violent crows, with some too afraid to step outside without an umbrella. 

A spate of horrific attacks by the bloodthirsty birds in the leafy suburb in Dulwich, east London, have left one schoolgirl bleeding, while another shocking incident saw a cyclist being attacked by two persistent crows. 

Two adults walking with ice creams were even said to have gone to hospital for Tetanus jabs following one attack – with locals comparing the attacks to the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds. 

Alison Frean, 60, a mother-of-two has lived on Townley Road, where the attacks have been most frequent, for around 18 years. She was attacked three times last year after which she began wearing a bike helmet before leaving the house. 

Residents have also been advised to take an umbrella with them when stepping out of their homes, while a local £26,000-a-year private school has warned parents of crow attacks when walking to and from school. 

Alison Frean 60, with a umbrella to protect herself from the Crows which have been attacking people on a street in Dulwich, London

A spate of horrific attacks by the bloodthirsty birds are taking place in a leafy suburb in Dulwich, east London. Pictured: A crow pictured flying from a tree in Dulwich

Locals in Dulwich have compared the attacks to the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds (pictured)

A road sign for the leafy Townley Road, where the attacks have been most frequent

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Schoolgirls face a Hitchcock-style nightmare as murder of crows launch a wave of attacks on the walk to school in south London suburb

Alison fears there’s little that can be done to deter the crows.

She said: ‘We’ve got these wonderful trees and we have nesting crows in them. 

‘When they have a baby and it fledges, it drops down to the grass and the mummy, daddy and aunty crows protect it.

‘Anybody who passes by on bikes or walking – especially men with bald heads – they dive on them.

‘Last year I was swooped on three times just trying to get out of my car. It was quite traumatising… I tried to go out again with a bike helmet on.

‘Kids on little scooters are being dive-bombed and people just stay in their houses, looking out.

‘Ever since we’ve lived here there has been a lot of crows and there’s not really anything we can do about it. They get violent after the babies fledge.

‘They sit up on the lampposts watching the babies so they can see passersby.’

Two persistent crows were caught on dash cam footage attacking a cyclist from above while cycling along Townley Road

The cyclist tries his best to get away from the crows, but they continue to peck at his head

One crow can be seen swooping down onto the man’s head as he lets out an agonising scream

Dulwich has long been regarded as one of the most upmarket neighbourhoods in the south of the capital.

Celebrities such as Hollywood actor Tom Cruise, ex-BBC newsreader Huw Edwards and former prime minister Margaret Thatcher are all said to have called the area home.

But overprotective crows wary of their young fledglings have built a reputation for attacking passing locals on leafy Townley Road.

Crows’ nesting season occurs between spring and the start of summer each year. During this period, parents can turn violent to protect against potential threats to their offspring.

Studies have shown they can recognise individual human faces and even choose to target them.

One local resident, who gave her name as Sarah, says she was attacked last year by a crow which flew down to scratch her.

‘I saw a fledgling on the ground so I stopped to have a look,’ she explained. ‘The crow came down and scratched me on the head.

‘I wasn’t bleeding but I was very angry…I only realised they were there last year – you’re brave if you stand under the trees. I think they should shoot them.’

Alison Frean, a mother-of-two who has lived on Townley Road, where the attacks have been most frequent, for around 18 years

The letting agency director, 60, was attacked three times last year after which she began wearing a bike helmet before leaving the house

Overprotective crows wary of their young fledglings have built a reputation for attacking passing locals on leafy Townley Road 

General views of Townley Road where Crows have been attacking people on a street in Dulwich, London

A man jogs down Townley Road in Dulwich where the attacks have been most frequent

Bridget Furst, chair of the Dulwich Residents’ Association, visited Townley Road last week after being alerted to the recent spate of attacks – and witnessed one herself.

‘You can see the crows circling around,’ she said. ‘They sit in the trees over the playing fields.

‘As I turned into Townley Road a woman was running away. She had a kid in a buggy and was looking over her shoulder.

‘She was running so fast we couldn’t stop to talk to her – the crow was just behind her.

‘Last year someone was sent to hospital after having his head pecked. And that attack on the girl who was pecked on the head recently was horrible.

‘There’s a big crow nest near to where I live, but you never get these sorts of problems.

‘It’s very strange… It’s these particular, aggressive crows that have caused people fear over the last two years.

‘There has been a warning put out about going down Townley Road with food, and people should perhaps take an umbrella with them.’ 

Local mother-of-two Emma, who was walking with her newborn in a pram on Townley Road, said she hadn’t heard about any attacks this year but would now keep a closer eye on her children – one aged two years and the other just five weeks old.

‘I haven’t been targeted – yet,’ the 36-year-old, who works in finance, said.

‘They are quite big so I wouldn’t be particularly nice if they came at you.

‘One of my children is five weeks old, so if the attacks became more prevalent it would be a concern, but it’s not like I’m not going to be leaving the house.

‘It does give you pause for thought, though, when there are bleeding injuries… especially with so many young children around. It is quite weird.’

Bridget Furst, chair of the Dulwich Residents’ Association, visited Townley Road (pictured)  last week after being alerted to the recent spate of attacks – and witnessed one herself.

One elderly woman who regularly walks home down Townley Road (pictured) said she had taken to walking on the opposite side of the road to the trees in which the birds nest

Another resident who lives on a street adjacent to Townley Road said the crows dive-bombed her multiple times last year. Pictured: A crow perched on top of a roof in Dulwich

A crow nest in a tree off Townley Road where the birds have been attacking people

One elderly woman who regularly walks home down Townley Road said she had taken to walking on the opposite side of the road to the trees in which the birds nest after hearing of recent attacks.

‘It didn’t happen to me but I cross the road now,’ she said. ‘I saw on our local residents’ WhatsApp chat about them. It sounds like something from a Hitchcock film!

‘I heard they stole two adults’ ice creams once – that might have been when I decided to start crossing the road.

‘Apparently they went to the hospital for a tetanus injection. I think one of them had a wound on their forehead.’

Another resident who lives on a street adjacent to Townley Road said the crows dive-bombed her multiple times last year.

‘I remember last year there was lots on the WhatsApp group about the attacks,’ she said. ‘They did swoop down on me a few times last year, but not this year.

‘I had a yoga mat with me I was using to protect myself instead of a helmet or umbrella.

‘It was quite alarming, actually. They swooped down from a tree when I was walking around the corner.

‘A couple of weeks later I saw a few squashed crows on the road so someone got their own back it seems.’

A Royal Mail postman who has been doing his rounds on Townley Road for more than a decade said he had heard of the attacks but had thankfully never been attacked himself.

‘As far as I know, no Post Office people have been attacked yet,’ he said. ‘By customers, maybe, but never crows. Maybe they recognise me.’

Amanda, another local mother, said the school her seven-year-old daughter attends – £26,000-a-year private school Alleyn’s – had sent out an email warning parents of crow attacks when walking to and from school.

‘They sent an email out last year warning that people had been attacked,’ she said. ‘The prospect of an attack on me or my daughter does scare me, to be honest.

‘When I saw the email I just thought they were being overzealous because I hadn’t personally encountered the crows. But now I’ve heard of several attacks.

‘But I’m not going to worry about the crows because there are worse things I need to worry about – like humans, instead of a crow trying to protect her child.’

Studies have shown crows can recognise individual human faces and even choose to target them

Crows’ nesting season occurs between spring and the start of summer each year

During this period, parents can turn violent to protect against potential threats to their offspring

Many locals of Townley Road (pictured) have reported attacks over the years on friends and family members

Many other locals also reported attacks over the years on friends and family members.

One mother pushing a pram said her sister was attacked by a crow on the road last year.

She said: ‘They dive down off the trees, attacking people. I last heard about them a year ago but I will keep a better eye on my son now there have been more attacks.’

A young man living on the road said his mother was attacked as long as a decade ago, adding: ‘It’s really common on this road.

‘We have tall conker trees where the crows like to nest. They just come out of nowhere and claw the back of your head. I see them swoop on the road and I think, ‘Please don’t get me’. What are you going to do? It’s birds in a tree.’

Another neighbour, who also wished to remain anonymous, said his daughter was recently targeted in yet another attack.

‘My daughter was attacked about a week ago maybe,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t bad enough to draw blood, but it was enough to scare her. It’s not that uncommon for crows to attack people, I don’t think.’

It comes amid reports of seaside resorts coming under siege by an ‘epidemic’ of seagulls stealing ice creams and forcing postal workers to dress in disguise or wear helmets for safety.

Herring gulls pictured in Port Isaac, Cornwall, dive-bombing for tourists’ ice creams and food

A seagull manages to take off with a healthy swipe of this person’s pie in Cornwall

There have been reports of seagulls drawing blood after they swoop in for people’s food

Known as ‘The Club’, the colony of herring gulls has become so aggressive that some deliveries are being suspended without notice. 

Some locals blame their neighbours for encouraging the birds to stay – either by deliberately feeding them or failing to put bags of rubbish into council-supplied wheely bins.

But others believe the gull menace has simply intensified as the size of the colony has grown to over 60 birds.

They claim they face daily disruption from aerial attacks and showers of gull excrement on paths, gardens and cars.