COMMUNITY spirit was the order of the day when a Northwich tool hire company stepped in to help out an elderly couple after they found 45,000 bees living in their home.

George Hassall, 81, and wife Betty, 80, went about their home life in Station Road for two years without realising that thousands of bees were lodging with them.

But when they discovered the large hive in the brickwork of their house, they called Chris Bowyer, of Paul Jones Pest Control, to rehome the bees.

Northwich Guardian:

George said: “We didn’t know they were there until my next-door neighbour pointed them out. But as soon as we knew, my wife was worried because our grandchildren come over and we didn’t want the risk of them being stung if they got angry or anything.”

Chris, who is also a beekeeper and rehomes the bees at his base in Middlewich, removes them without killing or harming any bees.

But to do this, he needed to remove the bricks to access the hive, and it soon became apparent that he could not do that without scaffolding.

With the expense of hiring scaffolding becoming an obstacle for George and Betty, Wincham-based Hirebase decided to step in and provide the scaffolding free of charge.

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Chris said: “Hirebase brought the scaffolding but the lengths of the decks weren't long enough due to the soil pipe outlet from the bathroom.

“Without hesitation the decks were returned to their yard and Simon Coyne, the depot manager, brought the longer decks and helped to erect the tower.”