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Family trapped in house by swarm
                   of bees

              BY VICTORIA FLETCHER

 
Copyright 1998 Times Newspapers Ltd. This service is provided on Times
Newspapers' standard terms and conditions.

 

  (United Kingdom) A WOMAN who claims she was trapped in her
  bee-covered house for two days with her two young
  children has criticised the local council for refusing to help.

  Jane Clark claims that she called twice for a rescue team,
  but Weymouth council said it could not intervene as bees
  are a protected species. It suggested two beekeepers, but
  both were unavailable when Mrs Clark rang them.

  Mrs Clark said yesterday: "There were thousands
  swarming over the house. It was like something out of a
  horror movie. There was a horrendous noise."

  Mrs Clark, 35, and her children Ben, three, and Charlie, two
  months, had been told of the presence of the bees by a
  neighbour who saw a swarm of about 20,000 crawling over
  the windows, doors and roof of the house.

  She said: "I tried the RSPCA, the police and the fire
  brigade, but they said the same - that bees are protected so
  I'd have to get a beekeeper.

  "Then the bees started settling on the chimney pot.
  Fortunately, it's sealed so they couldn't get in the house."

  Environmental officers agreed to inspect the house the next
  day, but Mrs Clark claims that after seeing the bees, they
  promptly gave her neighbours two more contact numbers
  and left.

  On day three, the bees finally flew off, allowing Mrs Clark
  and her children to leave their house.

  "If they [the council] cannot do anything then at least they
  should be able to advise people of what they should do,"
  Mrs Clark said afterwards.

  Tony Beeson, the environmental health services manager in
  Weymouth, Dorset, said: "The bees weren't in the property.
  We normally don't like to control bees because they are
  very beneficial insects in terms of pollination."

  Alex Ross of the RSPCA advised members of the public to
  call local bee-keeping societies or pest control units if they
  were faced with a similar situation.