Schoolgirls face a Hitchcock-style nightmare when the murder of crows sparks a spate of attacks
Schoolgirls face a Hitchcock-style nightmare when the murder of crows sparks a spate of attacks on the way to school in a south London suburb
- James Allen’s girls’ school has issued an alert to remain vigilant for crow attacks
- Comes as a homeowner in the area sustained “minor stab wounds to the head.”
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Parents whose children walk to school can give them road safety advice or give them a “stranger danger” reminder.
But students at a leading private girls’ school have been given a more unconventional warning: Stay vigilant in the event of an attack by a mob… crows.
Following the Hitchcock film The Birds, James Allen’s Girls’ School even advised students to avoid a nearby street in the upscale South London suburb of Dulwich Village after a homeowner suffered “about half a dozen minor stab wounds to the head” and a another had to fight the crows with an umbrella.
Costing £22,000 a year, the school is the oldest private girls’ school in London. Former students include author Anita Brookner and two-time Oscar-nominated actress Sally Hawkins.
Students at a leading private girls’ school have been given a more unconventional warning: Stay vigilant in the event of a mob attack… crows
Following the 1963 Hitchcock film The Birds (pictured), James Allen’s Girls’ School received a warning to remain vigilant in the event of an attack by a gang of crows
An email to parents from the personal assistant of the school’s director of operations warns, “We have received a letter from a concerned resident about crow attacks.”
It adds: ‘There are two large crows protecting a nest of fledglings and they attack anyone who passes by the road.
“The resident says he was attacked, resulting in half a dozen minor stab wounds to the head, another neighbor had to use an umbrella to get out of his house, and other residents were also attacked.”
The school warned pupils not to walk or cycle on East Dulwich Road – where the average house costs more than £1.5 million – ‘especially to the bottom’ until the young have fledged the nest.
The email directs parents to a website with information about crow attacks, which states that they are rare and that the worst outcome is likely to be “a few cuts or scrapes.”
The Birdfact website provides tips on how to avoid being attacked by a crow, explaining that the birds are “about as intelligent as a seven-year-old” child.
It says they are likely to attack only during breeding season when they become very territorial and will duck and dive to drive off opponents.
It advises the target of attacks to ‘keep calm and walk away’, as fluttering or chasing the bird is likely to increase the ferocity of its attack.
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