A QUIET street was abuzz with activity after an errant swarm of bees decided to set up home in a roadside tree.

Guardian reader Rod Deas, of Malford Grove, South Woodford called the newsdesk to report the troublesome insects after spotting their hive outside his neighbour's front garden.

Mr Deas decided against tackling the stripey invaders himself - and instead called upon a hardened team of bee rescuers to tackle the swarm.

He said: "I was walking past a tree out front and I saw them all swarming around it. They didn't seem very aggressive but I thought it would be better if someone came and dealt with them properly."

Ambulance technician Joe Chadwick, 55 - a keen member of Epping Forest Beekeepers Association - swooped down with his wife Helen to take care of the problem.

The father-of-two arrived within minutes with a special storage box after being contacted by the Guardian.

He said: "We didn't have to use any smoke but just sprayed them with a bit of water. It was quite easy as they were just up a tree in a nice clump but if they were in a bush they can sometimes be a little agitated.

"We just had to brush them into the box. We are not quite certain where they have come from but I think they are more likely to have come from another hive than the wild.

"When they leave their hive they take half their honey crop with them to help set up a new home so they were pretty docile when we got to them.

"Of course if some went about bashing them with a stick I'm sure they wouldn't like it and could get aggressive."

And Mr Chadwick said the mischievous swarm was adapting well after he re-homed them in Wanstead.

He added: "I had a spare hive on my allotment site so I've taken them there and they seem quite happy. Hopefully we will get some nice honey from them soon.

"Last year we got 200lbs of honey and haven't really been effected by colony collapse disorder. I think that London honey is much nicer than stuff from the country as our stuff is multi-floral where as country honey comes mainly from rape seed plants."