By Chris Bennett

BBC Sussex

Mr Pooh as a baby gull: in residence in Shoreham by Sea

He's a seagull. Or maybe he's a cat.



Or maybe, given his nickname, he's actually a bear.



Whatever he 'thinks' he is, Pooh the seagull is a family pet. June Grimwood: "I think he does believe that he is actually a cat" He has been part of the Grimwood family from Shoreham-by-Sea ever since he arrived unexpectedly as a baby.



Pooh didn't even arrive conventionally by exiting an egg.



In fact the Grimwoods found him in their fireplace one day. "We heard a rustle in the lounge when we were watching telly and we suddenly thought 'Ooh - what's that?" said June Grimwood.



"We reached into the chimney and pulled out this young chick."



I wouldn't say he's mixed up. He's just very clever. He knows where a good B&B is by the seaside every year

June Grimwood He was just a baby gull at the time, albeit an ash-covered baby after falling down the chimney. "We put him back on the roof, but it was a bit of a windy day and he fell back off."



Instead of getting into a flap, June and Steve Grimwood calmly nursed him and fed him cat food.



He ate it alongside some unlikely companions - the family cats.



"He slept in the cats' basket, mingled in amongst the cats and was happy as Larry,"



Then, one day, Pooh flew the nest.



But he still returns for six months every year. In fact, in a sense, he's still at home with Mum and Dad, because he and his partner nest on their roof.



Pooh comes in for meals three times a day, with the cats Mitzi, Gus and Henry. "He feeds out of the cat bowls, he comes indoors and takes the cats' biscuits out of their feeder. I think he does believe that he is actually a cat," said Mrs Grimwood. "I wouldn't say he's mixed up. He's just very clever. He knows where a good B&B is by the seaside every year."



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