A SWARM of 7,000 honey bees caused a buzz in Southampton after they nearly completely covered a concrete bollard.

The massive group of insects caused one cautious bystander to hide behind a wall after they settled on the bollard in Bedford Place.

Chloe Adams, 25, a marketing manager at the Orange Rooms bar, was one of the first people to spot the massive swarm.

She said: "No body wanted to get close to the bees because there was so many of them.

"When I first saw it I thought it was a fur coat wrapped around the bollard, but when I looked - after doing a double take - I realised it was a huge swarm of bees.

"It was a very unusual sight, the bees had nearly covered the bollard.

"They were actually quite placid and I later found out there behave that way because it was not their permanent home.

"I then called the Southampton Beekeepers' Club as I wanted the bees to be safe."

Dave Norris, pictured below, who volunteers at the beekepers' club was quick to come out and spent 30 minutes getting the bees into a box.

Daily Echo:

He said: "I reckon there huge swarm of bees had about 7,000 bees in it.

"Bees relocate when their hives fill up and the queen will shoot off with the mature bees to find another home.

"It was very unusual to see - 7,000 bees on a bollard - it looked like a policeman's helmet.

"There were so many bees, and the swarm was about three to four bees deep."

Mr Norris, a retired marine engineer from Southampton, Hants, managed to get the bees into a box.

He said: "I started by getting some into the box and then they send out signals and smells to indicate they are happy in the box and then the others follow.

"They were on the bollard because they had pitched up for a moment while they were trying to find a permanent home.

"I then take them back to the Southampton beekeepers' base and we then check if they are healthy before trying to match them with a beekeeper."