Screech like you mean it: 70 humans compete to be Europe's best seagull

In Belgium, the highest honour in human–gull relations has been contested again. Around 70 competitors took part in this year's European Seagull Screeching Championship, performing their finest gull impressions for a panel of expert judges. The championship has a serious heart: gulls are often treated as chip-stealing pests, and the contest exists to encourage people to think more kindly of the seabirds. Contestants of all ages screech, judges deliberate, crowds cheer — and for one weekend, the most mocked bird on the seafront is the most imitated. As BBC Newsround put it, people get involved because it's such a hoot — or should that be screech?