BEEKEEPERS are being sent to Camden Town this afternoon (Friday) after “swarms” of the black and yellow flying insects began swarming around locked-up bicycles.

The London Bee Keeping Association was  called to Britannia Junction, near the underground station, with a cardboard boxes and expert equipment.

The bees are quite sleepy and not a dangerous and looking for a new home after the collapse of a hive, experts said.

Association secretary Natalie Cotton said: “It all looks dramatic but they are really very docile as they have no home to defend. This is a natural thing than bees do, it happen at this time of year. They will send out scouts looking for a permanent home. We don’t know why they go for the bike frames but they like that sort of structure.”

She said the beekeepers would get a card-box and “shake the bees” into it, adding: “As long as you get the Queen it’s alright. It’s kind of trial and error with that but 95 per cent of the time a bee keeper will be able to spot the queen.”

Normally, the bees are left there until sun down but it was thought this was not practical in the heart of Camden Town on a Friday evening.

Ms Cotton added: “Bee colonies – they are super organisms. It’s part of their natural reproductive method. The other half of the bees, they are left behind.”