THERE was a real buzz in one sleepy road in Acton after a bee-keeper collected a swarm from West Acton Primary School and left the hive on the back seat of his car.

The bees were collected by a local beekeeper from the school's playground in Noel Road, Acton on Tuesday morning, but were still in the car in nearby Tudor Gardens at 4.30pm.

A council spokeswoman said: "The bees were safely removed by a bee-keeper from the playground and no one was stung. Council officers were not involved."

Families in Tudor Gardens were stunned when they realised a swarm of bees was clustering in this car, many escaping into their road. Parents collecting their children from school had to keep their excited children back.

Hiro Eto, 16, said his family was amazed to see the car parked outside their home. He said: "We were really frightened because someone could easily have got stung. A man said he would be back tomorrow to take the car away."

Daniel Harrison, 16, who was visiting a friend, said: "We couldn't believe someone could be so stupid as to leave a beehive in a car, but after getting over the initial shock it was quite entertaining."

John Chapple, vice-president of the Ealing Beekeepers' Association, said there was never a danger to the public: "What you might consider a large number is not what I would consider a large number - 20-30,000.

"It's all about perception. The bee keeper would have easily been able to drive this away. It was not dangerous at all."

Sadly no one was able to confirm whether the car was running on BEE P fuel.