A HAMPSHIRE beekeeper has described how thousands of his honey bees died after their hive was vandalised by “mindless kids.”

Peter Clark - a beekeeper for six years - had kept a hive of between 30-40.000 bees on Ageas Bowl Golf Club on Botley Road in West End, for the last two years without issue.

On Monday night he received a call from the grounds keeper of the golf course, telling him the hive - designed to pollinate nearby wildflowers - had been vandalised that evening around 6.30pm.

“The grounds keeper said the hive had been kicked over and tree branches thrown and mounds of earth has been thrown on it, there were also alcohol bottles thrown around,” said Peter.

Security guards chased some youngsters off the golf course and through Telegraph woods although they were not able to locate them.

The bees were said to be “going mental”, and although Mr Clark was able to repair the hive temporarily that evening, he estimated that around two to three thousand of the honey bees died in the cold.

An investigation has been launched by Hamsphire Police to find those behind the vandalism attack.

In a post on the neighbourhood networking site NextDoor, Mr Clark described the three youths seen as “mindless.”

The hive has since been moved.

A spokesperson for Hampshire Constabulary said: “We are keen to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the incident or may have seen three boys who were in the area at the time.

“They are described as white, aged approximately 15 – 17, wearing dark clothing with one person wearing grey tracksuit bottoms, grey hooded top underneath a black coat.”

Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting 44210169211.