A cheeky seagull swooped down and snatched a tourist's ice cream while he was enjoying the view on the Irish coast.

Footage shows the bird diving in from behind the holidaymaker's shoulders, grabbing the chocolate-flavoured cone, and flying off in Dublin, Ireland.

Sun leaned away in shock as the animal struck, but it was too late. The gull screeched as it successfully made off with the treat, leaving the visitor Sun Guoming stunned into silence on April 29.

He said: 'This was at Howth. The gull just stole my ice cream without any warning. I was shocked at how speedy he was.'

Seagulls are highly intelligent and adaptable, and they have been observed learning from both their own experiences and from watching others.

Over time, they have learned that humans, especially tourists, often carry or leave behind food, making it easy to grab.