S'warm in 'ere! Staff trapped in chocolate shop for almost THREE
HOURS after thousands of angry bees threaten to invade store
Employees barricaded themselves in with
chocolate boxes as 'angry cloud' buzzed at the
door
This is the incredible moment terrified staff at Thorntons
chocolate shop were trapped for nearly three hours after they were
literally bee-sieged - by a buzzing swarm.
The sweet store was forced to close for two-and-a-half hours
after thousands of bees swarmed around the queen in its
doorway.
Staff at the shop in Leominster, Herefordshire, said it was like
something from a horror film as they watched an angry cloud of
black and yellow coming at them.
Help! Terrified staff at Thorntons were trapped
for nearly three hours after they were attacked by this swarm of
bees
They were forced to hide inside the shop, barricading the door
with chocolate boxes, while a beekeeper was called.
Shop assistant Kim Kinsey said: 'I thought they had been
attracted to the shop by the sweet smell of the chocolate, but the
beekeeper explained they follow the queen.'
The bees are believed to have swarmed the shop to protect a
queen bee which had been ousted from a nearby nest by a younger
female.
They were eventually removed by a beekeeper after tourist
information centre manager Gill Ding raised the alarm.
Ms Ding, 45, said: 'Nobody seems to know where they came from
but it was probably from a large hive. It was quite alarming
Buzz off: The bees are believed to have swarmed
the shop to protect a queen bee which had been ousted from a nearby
nest
'An awful lot of people came to have a look but the beekeeper
said not to disturb them as we didn't want them flying again.
'She gradually just collected them into a cardboard box and then
left it on the floor so the stragglers would be
attracted.'
Shop manager Julie Walker said: 'We saw the bees outside so we
shut the door in case they flew in. 'That's exactly what they
did. One of our staff was a bit freaked out but it was interesting
to watch.'
Shop assistant Kim Kinsey, 48, barricaded the door with boxes of
chocolates to stop the bees invading the shop.
She said: 'It was like something from a horror film, one minute
the sky was clear and then suddenly there was a cloud of black and
yellow coming straight for us.
'The noise was incredible. We tried to escape out the cellar but
it was locked so we locked ourselves in the shop.
'I used chocolate boxes to barricade the door because they were
trying to get in through the cracks.
'I've never seen anything like it before.'
Watch video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mCGbrRdMze8
