A warning sign was placed outside the Hog’s Breath Cafe instructing people to take a different route or wear a hat while the bird is around, and to be particularly weary of prams or bicycles, as the nesting creatures are attracted to the wheels.

Sid’s Bottle Shop have also posted a cautionary sign reminding pedestrians they need their eyes “to read the low prices at Sid’s Bottle Shop”.

Yesterday the Daily Liberal reported a number of bystanders had been swooped, including Paul Jackson, who ended up with a bleeding eye.

After that article was published, other victims came forward to tell their story too.

Grant Thompson was attacked about a month ago, when he was returning from a food outlet on Macquarie Street.

“I almost lost my eye - his beak missed my cornea by about 2 millimetres,” he said.

“It went straight for my eye and left me bleeding.”

After the incident, Mr Thompson’s wife contacted both Dubbo City Council and National Parks and Wildlife, but was told the bird is a protected species and that it would not be moved.

“It wasn’t until she went to the chemist to get antibiotics that we realised how many cases there had been,” he said.

“The chemist told my wife

several people had come in

with similar issues and even the hospital had called to ask about treatment.”

Mr Thompson only realised the bird was still there when he read about Paul Jackson in the Daily Liberal.

“I fear if they don’t move it now, it could seriously hurt a child,” he said.