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Bee colony biggest I've dealt with, says keeper

Debbie Tubby & Katy Prickett
BBC News, Norfolk
Shaun Whitmore/BBC Beekeeper Steve Barrett wearing an all-covering grey beekeeping suit, with his face covered by black mesh stretched over a frame. He is looking intently at a hole in a brick wall, and his right blue gloved hand is reaching into the hole. Bees can be seen flying around the hole and his head. Shaun Whitmore/BBC
Beekeeper Steve Barrett found a huge amount of honey as he extracted the colony

A honey bee colony discovered in a wall cavity of an industrial building "is the biggest I've ever dealt with", a beekeeper has said.

The nest, believed to contain 80,000 insects, was found about six weeks ago at Crisp Malt, Great Ryburgh, near Fakenham, Norfolk, by scaffolders.

Steve Barrett, of Barrett's Bees, said: "Yes, there's been a few stings, nothing major, but they've been very, very friendly, it's been a successful day."

He is also the beekeeper of brewing company Adnams of Southwold, Suffolk, and he initially plans to relocate the bees to his apiaries there.

"This is the biggest I've every dealt with, it's a really good size and very healthy too, said Mr Barrett.

Shaun Whitmore/BBC Beekeeper Steve Barrett wearing a grey beekeeping suit, but without its helmet. He has a long white beard and is wearing dark glasses and scarf on his head. Behind him are silver coloured buildings. Shaun Whitmore/BBC
The bees will be relocated to apiaries built by Mr Barrett, initially to Suffolk and later on to one of his apiaries in Oxfordshire

The extent of colony came to light when the company decided to renovate a building dating back to 1903, said Dan Clarke, site manager at Crisp Malt.

"As we put up some scaffolding, the scaffolders recognised there were some bees flying in and out of the building, so we stopped to have a little look, called in contractors and yes it's a bee hive," he said.

"There's always bees and other stuff flying around, no-one took much notice, but they've been around for 10 to 12 years and the hive was a lot bigger than expected."

Shaun Whitmore/BBC Chris Fulford and Steve Barrett standing on scaffolding against a brick wall. Chris is on the left and is dressed in a pale pink beekeeper all in one suit and Steve is on the right and is wearing a grey all in one beekeeper suits. They are both examining the wall. A few bees can be seen flying above their head. Shaun Whitmore/BBC
Chris Fulford (left) helped Mr Barrett access the colony, which had taken up home in one of the maltings buildings

Chris Fulford, from builders PJ Spillings, was surprised that the bees were "a lot less angry than I thought they'd be".

The site supervisor admitted he was a bit nervous when he began cutting into the wall to access the colony.

"It's unnerving when they're all right in front of your face and you're in the hole, putting your hands in there, but it's been alright, I've got a nice suit and only got stung once so far," he said.

Shaun Whitmore/BBC An aerial shot of Crisp Malt at Great Ryburgh. The site includes huge silver-coloured round industrial buildings as well as other industrial buildings. The site is ringed with trees and fields and houses can be seen beyond the main complex.Shaun Whitmore/BBC
There has been a maltings at Great Ryburgh since the 1870s

Mr Barrett, who has 18 miles of apiaries across various counties, expects the bees to settle into their new home quickly.

"They'll do orientation flights, I'll face them southerly and there's quite a bit of forage where they're going," he said.

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