A SWARM of wild bees that descended on the Riverside Veterinary Practice in Marlborough last Thursday couldn't have hoped for a better landing pad.

They had spent the winter in the trunk of an alder tree at the side of the River Kennet and after quitting their lofty nesting hole, were looking for a new home.

The swarm made a beeline for a fence between the vets and the Elm Tree Motor Company next door.

But luckily for them, Riverside receptionist Golly Sturt is also an experienced bee keeper who has about 50 hives at her home in Highclere near Newbury.

She sprayed them with a bee 'smoker' to help keep them docile, while she donned a netted beekeeper's hat.

After putting a piece of honeycomb in a cardboard box, she propped it on the fence over the swarm. She said the bees were unlikely to sting while searching for a new home, as they needed as many workers as possible.

The swarm eventually moved into the box and were taken away to one of Mrs Sturt's hives.

She said: "There is an old saying that a swarm in May is worth a load of hay and a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon, so I should count myself lucky."