A mum is unable to open the windows of her home as 30,000 bees have swarmed around the block of flats where she lives. Kayley Harding, 30, said she fears the bees will get into her flat where she lives with her nine-year-old daughter, Lacey.
The bees have been setting up base at the flats in West Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, for the past few years when the warmer weather arrives. She says her calls for help have fallen on deaf years.
Kayley told BuckinghamshireLive that calls to Milton Keynes Council have left her feeling helpless, as the authority told her it is unable to step in as the bees are a protected species. The council has said a long-term solution is being investigated.
Kayley said: "It's an ongoing problem. This year it's not even really summer yet and it's already ridiculous.
"I've noticed a big difference with my daughter's skin where we're having to keep the windows shut. Her dad's allergic to bee stings but I don't know if she is. I don't want to find out the hard way.
"She's got global development delay, so she's a bit scared. I think we all are here."
She added: "We've got over 30,000 bees. They all seem to congregate on the ground floor overnight but in the morning they disperse and they're all over the building.
"When they're swarming, it honestly looks like a tornado. It's awful. They sometimes swarm at the back of the building so we can't really use the courtyard.
"You can stand on them at any time because they're all on the stairwell. If my daughter gets stung, how do I know she's not going to have an allergic reaction?"
Kayley said one of her neighbours in the Milton Keynes estate is allergic to bees and has had to lock herself away. She continued: "I don't want want to get to the point where someone's life is at risk.
"My neighbour with an EpiPen is being moved to a hotel for tonight. But what is one night going to do? These bees have taken over.
"The council just don't listen. I don't think they're taking it seriously at all.
"There are other children in the block. It's just ridiculous."
A Milton Keynes Council spokesperson said: "We’re carrying out a cleaning operation to remove the bees and have provided hotel accommodation for one resident. The council is looking at long-term solutions with our contractor."
