'One million bees' killed in Nottinghamshire hives arson attack

Six beehives Mariusz Chudy had made from recycled material were destroyed

A beekeeper has spoken of his devastation after about a million of his bees were killed when their hives were doused in petrol and set alight.

Mariusz Chudy, who has kept bees for 30 years, was alerted to the fire at a farm in Nottinghamshire on Saturday.

He said six of the beehives he had made from recycled materials were "burnt to a crisp".

Nottinghamshire Police described it as "a deliberate cruel act" and said they were investigating.

Mr Chudy, who sells honey, bee bread, candle wax under the brand Goldendrops, said the fire was "a shock" and he considered the bees "like family".

He said he had not calculated how much money he had lost as it was the bees' lives he was most concerned about, but estimated the value of each hive to be between £1,200 and £1,500 when factoring in materials, bees and honey.

Mariusz Chudy said he loves bees and works with them seven days a week.

"This is my big passion because I have worked all my life with bees," he said.

"It is very important - it gives pollination to farms.

"I do not understand these people. I am totally devastated. They have killed six colonies and all the equipment - and I don't know why."

Mr Chudy said he planned to rebuild his colonies but was considering relocating them from Screveton to an alternative location.

Mr Chudy's daughter, Aleksandra, said they had no idea who was responsible

Mr Chudy's daughter, Aleksandra, said: "Dad said when he went down to the farm all he could smell was petrol.

"There was a trail of petrol and somebody really wanted to burn them all down.

"Dad is horrified and scared that it might not be a one-off event.

"As far as we know we have no enemies so we are unsure who would have done this.

"The farm is not one that we advertise either so not many people know the bees were there."

A fundraising page set up by customer Steven Mayfield has now raised more than £800 to help rebuild the beehives.

Mr Mayfield said: "We all need bees to pollinate our beautiful plants and when they produce such delicious honey why on Earth anyone would want to kill them all, I'll never know."

Insp Rob Lawton, from Nottinghamshire Police, said: "This was a deliberate cruel act which has clearly left the owner devastated and has had an impact on his livelihood.

"This was wanton vandalism, a malicious attack which has resulted in the deaths of all these bees.

"I have personally spoken to the owner of the bees and I have assured them we will work tirelessly to find who has done this."

He urged anyone with information to to get in touch.