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'LIVING NIGHTMARE'

Our council flat was invaded by 30k vicious BEES – they live in the walls & the buzzing keeps us up… we’re terrified

RESIDENTS at a council estate have had their homes invaded by 30,000 vicious bees that live in the walls.

The noisy swarms of "untouchable" bees have caused misery for renters who claim they are exhausted by having to live beside the four huge colonies.

An infestation of 30,000 bees are terrorising residents in a block of council-owned flats
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An infestation of 30,000 bees are terrorising residents in a block of council-owned flatsCredit: Hyde News & Pictures
The terrorising bees have returned for the fourth year in a row and can't be moved
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The terrorising bees have returned for the fourth year in a row and can't be movedCredit: Hyde News & Pictures
The honeybees are endangered and so can't be exterminated
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The honeybees are endangered and so can't be exterminatedCredit: Alamy

Residents in Doune House in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, live in a state of fear of getting stung.

Every time they open their windows hundreds of bees invade - while a dense mat of the creatures sometimes covers the floor of communal areas.

One bee colony has taken up residence beside the communal doors, terrorising people as they enter and leave.

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Meanwhile thousands more are living in the wall cavities, keeping residents awake at night with their loud buzzing.

The nests are so high up on the third floor that no beekeeper can reach them to relocate them.

And bees are endangered, meaning they can't be destroyed.

The terrifying colonies have returned to Duone House every year for the past four years and residents describe it as living in a nightmare.

Kayley Harding, 30, said: "Year after year the bees come back and this year there’s now three hives.”

She added: "Milton Keynes Council won’t do anything because they’re honey bees and it costs too much money to remove them.

"They’re too high up for beekeepers to collect them so we’re stuck with them. It’s horrible.”

Kayley’s neighbour Kerry Knibbs is allergic to bee stings and constantly carries an EpiPen.

Last year she was stung and had to be rushed to hospital in an ambulance.

Milton Keynes Council has agreed to temporarily move Kerry and her two young daughters, who are aged four and 10.

Kayley said: "The bees are a risk to life. My own daughter has special needs as well as severe skin conditions. She is terrified of them.

"This is only really the start of the bees for summer. We have to keep our windows closed all the time and in this heat it's a killer."

The flats have a communal garden - but it's swarming with bees meaning the children cannot play there, Kayley claims.

"It’s not fair for me and my neighbours to have to go through this year and year again...

"If the council can’t move the bees they need to turn these flats into a beehouse and move us residents.

"It’s just not fair that we should be expected to live like this. We know honey bees are important but they are seriously ruining our lives in these flats.”

A beekeeper visited the site and confirmed there were an estimated total of 30,000 bees. All the colonies are too high to move, he said.

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"He also said that even if all the bees were killed, more would come back and we’d have the same problem again in no time,” said Kerry.

A spokesman for Milton Keynes Council said: “We’re aware of the issue and are looking into solutions to resolve the matter.”

The bees live in wall cavities where their buzzing keeps residents awake
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The bees live in wall cavities where their buzzing keeps residents awakeCredit: Hyde News & Pictures
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