If you suffer from Ornithophobia (fear of birds), we advised that you don't read any further.

Seagulls are well known for stealing the chips of unsuspecting seaside goers, but this is something else entirely.

According to The Sun a giant seagull in the Italian capital of Rome was filmed pecking a helpless pigeon to death.

If that wasn't bad enough, the feathered fiend then opens it's gullet and swallows the bird, whole.

Head, feathers, feet. The lot.

Watch the grim scene in the video below but perhaps do so after you've had your lunch.

The blood and gore combined with the callous nature of the seagull is enough to give you nightmares for week's isn't it?

I mean, just look at its eyes.

Picture: YouTube/Durchblickable/Screengrab

More than 55,000 people have now viewed the video on YouTube and are now presumably terrified of going outside.

So, next time a seagull swoops down to snatch something out of your hand, think twice about chasing it.