Two million honeybees introduced to Sheffield hives

Two million honeybees have been introduced to Sheffield as part of a year-long project to increase the bee population.

Dozens of hives have been placed in spaces including museums and rooftops as part of the Bee Buddies project run by the Groundwork Sheffield charity.

The scheme has also involved training for new beekeepers and awareness sessions.

Head beekeeper Jez Daughtry said: "It has gone fantastically well."

Over 400 children and 100 adults have taken part in educational sessions, which have included lessons in honey tasting and beeswax candle-making.

Anna Cooper from Groundwork Sheffield said: "Bees are very important; they are worth around £200m to the economy, they allow 70% of plants to flower - which is 30% of the food we consume."

Mr Daughtry added: "Bee populations have struggled in the last two decades with varroa mites attacking hives and an ageing population of beekeepers."

Over 20,000 sq m of foraging habitat have been planted in Sheffield back gardens using a seed mix created for the project.

The scheme is now looking for funding to continue to increase the population of bees across Sheffield.