YORK magistrates have ordered police to arrest a woman who allegedly took a seagull for a walk.

Anna Marie Marshall, 44, attended their courthouse this morning to answer three charges in relation to her conduct towards a sea bird in York and Scarborough on June 28.

But halfway through a conference with her solicitor Kevin Blount, she suddenly left the building.

Shortly afterwards, her case was called on and he told magistrates: "She is unlikely to return to present herself to court."

He also said he had concerns about her state of health.

Magistrates issued a warrant for her arrest.

Marshall, of no fixed address, is charged with injuring a seagull on Parliament Street, York, taking a wild bird in contravention of wildlife protection laws in Scarborough and behaving in a disorderly way on Parliament Street.