CRAFTY crows with a penchant for chocolate are ganging up on golfers and stealing their sweets.

The brainy birds are the talk of Ulverston Golf Club where members have seen the peckish pests unzipping golf bags before making off with an array of sweet treats.

And even when golfers bury their bounty from the birds’ beady eyes, there’s still no guarantee that the feathered thieves won’t find a way to get what they want.

“I was playing a round and I saw a crow around the top of my golf bag and didn’t think anything of it,” said club professional Paul Stoller.

“After I’d taken my shot I saw it flying away with my Double Decker bar in its mouth.

"My bag was zipped up so it had unzipped it. It was incredible.

“There seems to be a family of them and over time they have seen that around holes nine, 10 and 11 golfers get a bit peckish in the middle of the round, so the birds wait in the trees to take their chance.”

And it is not just chocolate that the crows crave, as Wendy Wickenden, lady captain, explained.

She said: “One of my friends had a bite from her banana, put it on the top of her bag, walked to the tee and then the next thing two birds were sharing it. They also love cereal bars.”

Club member Jim Patterson said: “They took a whole packet of Kit Kats from my bag and they even like boiled sweets. It’s not a problem though, it’s quite amusing.”

Another keen golfer Jim Scrogham added: “It’s unbelievable.

"They took a Twix from my bag - the birds just carry them off in their beaks.”

James Taylor, assistant pro, said: “I have had a few chocolate bars nicked.

“The most recent one was when I was teeing off and the next thing I know, this bird was flying off with my food. It was buried deep in my bag so it must have dug deep.”

An RSPB spokesman said: “The carrion crow is one of the cleverest and most adaptable of birds.

"It is often quite fearless, although it can be wary of man.

“It will come for food and although often cautious initially, they soon learn when it is safe, and will return repeatedly to take advantage of whatever is on offer."

Crows: all you need to know

> Carrion crows are native to the UK and are found all year round almost everywhere, from the centre of cities to upland moorlands, and from woodlands to seashore.

> They eat insects, worms, seeds, fruit and any scraps.

> Wild hooded crows in Israel have learned to use breadcrumbs for bait-fishing.

> Crows have been filmed dropping tough nuts into a street where there is a lot of traffic and waiting for a car to crush them open, and then waiting at pedestrian lights with other pedestrians in order to retrieve the nuts.

> Recent research suggests that crows have the ability to recognise one individual human from another by facial features.