Couple find a swarm of 160,000 bees living in their chimney
Story and video from SWNS
A couple felt stung after moving into their dream home - and finding a swarm of 160,000 BEES living in the chimney.
The previous owner had bricked up the fireplace before selling the £400,000 property in Parkside, Groby,Leics.
When the couple moved in last week, they noticed thousands of bees inside the living room.
Incredibly, inside the chimney were more than 160,000 bees and a whopping 15ft-long honeycomb.
The couple were quoted more than £3,000 to remove the swarm but beekeeper Peter Clarke agreed a cut-price rate to relocate them to a nearby farm.
Peter is now gently sucking the bees from the four-bedroom detached house using a vacuum cleaner.
He has been loading the bees into containers and driving them to a farm in nearby
Market Bosworth where they will make their new hives.
Since uncovering the vast swarm last week, Peter has rescued 54,000 bees and suffered more than 160 stings.
He says he is in a race against time to recover the queen and relocate her in order for the hive to function normally.
Dad-of-one Peter, 55, said: "I've not seen anything like this in the seven years since I've been doing this.
"When I pulled away the first five or six bricks inside the chimney and saw all the honeycombe, larvae and eggs, it was an amazing feeling.
"I have been using a hoover to suck the bees out. I developed it a while ago.
"Basically it's a box I've put on the back of the vacuum cleaner and the bees go straight into the box so they can be safely transported.
"I'm always very careful with the bees. If I even accidentally kill one it breaks my heart.
"I'm expecting to collect more than 160,000 bees from this site which is a record for me.
"The bees are protected creatures but if they are causing harm or distress it's legal to spray them and kill them.
"I hate the idea of that so I just need to find the queen to ensure the hive will survive."
Peter explained the previous owner of the house sold up without informing the buyers about the swarm.
He said: "The couple who bought the house were from London and bought it as is last October.
"They had planned to do lots of renovations and when they came up last week the neighbour asked them what they were going to do about the bees.
"It was the first they'd heard about the bees but when they went inside the living room was swarming with thousands of them.
"Apparently the previous owner had just bricked up the fireplace without telling anyone about the swarm.
"I agreed with the couple to relocate them for a discounted rate. I've managed to get the bees moved to several hives at a farm nearby."
