Kingsbridge Community Garden has put out an urgent call for a volunteer bee-keeper to continue looking after the town’s hive.

In 2012, in response to the decline of bee populations throughout the country, Kingsbridge in Bloom and the Kingsbridge Community Garden were prompted to take action. The community garden supplied the space and a hive, while Kingsbridge in Bloom bought the bees.

The bees have prospered and produced a large quantity of honey over the years. The community garden is an excellent site for them, and Delia Elliott and Duncan McDonald have tended to them with dedication, sometimes aided by other volunteers.

Unfortunately, Delia and Duncan now have too many other commitments, so unless another volunteer bee-keeper can be found the hive will have to be given away.

A spokesperson for the community garden said: ‘There is something almost magical about bees – poets including Virgil and Yeats have celebrated them, and without their pollinating activity crops and flowers would fail.’

Kingsbridge Community Garden has protective gear, and would be willing to pay for an inexperienced person to take a training course.

If anyone is interested, please call 01548 852058 to discuss further.