A BUSINESSMAN teamed up with beekeepers to rescue a hive and hundreds of bees from a building undergoing refurbishment.

Graham Nicholson, 56, who is the managing director of Nicholson’s Raw Animal Foods, based in Southend, was helping a friend develop The Mill, in St John’s Road, Great Wakering, when he came across a giant beehive in the roof of the building.

He said: “We got involved in the refurbishment of The Mill, which is a historical building.

“It used to be a working mill before it became a monastery and now it’s just disused industrial units, but they are going to be converted into homes.

“While we were working on it, we found a huge beehive, with hundreds if not thousands of bees, flying round in the roof.

“We contacted the Essex Beekeeping Association and they told us that they were honeybees.

“We were quoted £60 to have them removed and killed but I didn’t want that so I asked the Southend branch of the Beekeeping Association to help save the colony.

“I have a friend who is a very keen gardener and I remember him saying that we need to save bees so I’m really glad we did because now they’re protected.”

Pat Holden and Rita Wilson, both 70, are keen beekeepers in the Southend Beekeepers Association. They were more than happy to help Graham deal with the hive.

Mrs Holden, from Leigh, said: “We heard about this and it is usual to get colonies of bees that have settled for some time and people want them to get taken away.

“When there’s a hive it’s always more difficult because you’ve got combs full of honey and it’s very sticky and difficult to cut through.

“We used a gentle vacuum to collect the bees and then cut into the comb and removed the hive.

“We collected them all into a box and then transported them to my beehive in my garden.

“They were very good-tempered bees considering we were invading their home. We were expecting them to be more aggressive but they were just very sticky.”

Pat advises this is the best way to get rid of unwanted bees, adding: “It’s certainly not a good idea to kill them using sprays because not only is it incredibly cruel but it can cause all kinds of problems.

“We try and save as many as possible and we are starting to run classes in Southend so people can learn to be beekeepers too.”