An East Lancashire mum has found TikTok fame after catching the moment a greedy seagull snatched her son’s food right out of his mouth.
Melissa Lomax, from Burnley, tried to take a picture of her son, Ralph Layfield, eating a hot dog at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
However, the pesky seagulls had other ideas and the live photo showed the bird swooping in and attempting to snatch the food from the six-year-old’s hand as he put it into his mouth.
Live photos are a feature on modern smartphones, in which a short video is taken as a photo is taken allowing the photographer to capture the perfect frame, in case the subject blinks or a photo is otherwise interrupted.
Melissa then compiled the images into a TikTok video captioned: “Poor boy just wanted a hot dog," and it quickly racked up the views and became a viral hit.
Thankfully, the story has a happy ending, and Ralph was given a replacement hot dog by the kind-hearted vendor which he enjoyed away from the hungry birds.
Melissa said: “My son was a little bit shocked but he found it quite funny.
“It happened right outside the food bar and they gave him a free replacement hot dog which he ate under cover.”
Since posting it, the video has amassed more than 470,000 views and Melissa said she never expected it to take off like it has.
The 34-year-old said: “We couldn’t believe we caught it on camera and we all found it hilarious.
“I didn’t expect the video on TikTok to go as far as what it has done, but it’s clear everyone sees the funny side of it too.
“Ralph thinks he’s TikTok famous.”
Commenting on the video one person said: “This is a masterpiece.”
“The Pleasure Beach seagulls are lethal,” said another.
A third said: “Gotta love Blackpool for the hungry seagulls.”
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