Sheffield beekeepers come to rescue after car owner leaves work to find Volkswagen door swarming with bees

Alex Kelsey left work and was ready to head home at around 3pm yesterday (May 7) only to return to his car on Glossop Road, in Broomhill, and find it swarming with wayward bees.

The surge of several hundred honey bees had covered the driver’s side door and roof, leaving Alex unsure whether it was clever or safe to try the handle and drive away as normal.

Instead, he posted an image of the situation to the Wonderful Walkley community Facebook page, asking simply: “Any advice, anyone?”

Bee colonies can migrate like this under several circumstances, such as if the queen grows old, if the existing hive becomes crowded or if they need to produce a new queen. The hive can divide in two into a swarm of as many as 10,000 bees or more and leave with the old queen in search of a new home.

In ideal circumstances, they might settle on a tree or environment where they can peacefully build a new hive… but, apparently, they might also take a liking to a white Volkswagen parked in the sun in Broomhill.

Alex told The Star he was “very confused” what to do about the situation and made the post hoping any readers would know who to call.

It led to one of Alex’s friends contacting local beekeeper Phil Khorassandjian, who also operates local honey producers The Honey Shed Ltd, who was able to arrive at the scene fully kitted for the job.

Phil told The Star: “I was already working in the local area in Walkley and got a call saying there was a swarm of bees on a car door in Broomhill. It’s actually not the first time I’ve dealt with that, there was something similar I helped with in Rotherham 10 years ago.

"I have no idea why they would have relocated to a car door. Ideally, they would find an apple tree three feet off the ground somewhere.”

Phil and his partner Peter O’Callaghan arrived in beekeeper suits and a specialized vacuum cleaner that can hoover up the bees safely to be taken away.

Phil said: “It was a bit trickier than most jobs. Normally, I would simply place an empty hive nearby and wait until sundown – but, obviously, Alex wanted to get away.

Two hours after Alex came across the situation, the bees had been safely gathered up and he could get home without any risk of getting stung. The bees are now in a hive in Phil's garden until they can be relocated.

Anyone who comes across a swarm of bees where it shouldn't be can get help by contacting the British Beekeeper’s Association online, where you can enter your postcode and find a local apiarist who can safely take them away. For more information, visit their website here.

Phil’s company, The Honey Shed, produces and sells locally sourced honey, with each bottle proudly saying where it came from, be it Broomhill or Walkley.