Moment seagull swallows huge rat in viral video as stunned onlookers watch in Rome

A SEAGULL has gone viral after being spotted gobbling down a huge rat in the middle of Rome.

The gut-churning video of the gull chowing down in front of stunned onlookers has been viewed more than three million times.

In the footage, the seagull is seen on a pavement with the large rodent in its beak.

It then swallows down the rat whole to the shock of those watching.

It then flies off with only the rat’s tail visible from its mouth after someone walks out of an entrance and spooks it.

The video has prompted locals to rip into the local authorities over the messy streets in the Italian capital.

Many complained about the lack of street hygiene and accumulated rubbish in the city centre for attracting more rodents, cockroaches and other creepy-crawlies to the area recently.

Giancarlo Giacometti commented online: “Rome is finished. The seagulls are more effective than our authorities.”

According to local media, seeing seagulls carrying off large rodents is not unusual on the streets of Rome.

Facebook user ‘Roberto Fedeli’ said: “Seagulls are predators. In cities, instead of fish, they eat rodents.”