PRU and Gordon Mills of Yelverton, members of Tavistock Beekeepers, were at the show for the second time, with their 'visible hive', enabling the public to see how the bees work.

The couple have been keeping bees for about five years.

Pru said: 'I saw an advert in the Tavistock Times — Duchy College were running a course on how to keep bees and Gordon has always wanted to keep them.

'We've got five hives now. We really do it to be able to eat our own honey, although we do sell what we can't eat locally.'

Pru said they were keen to do as much as possible to support bee colonies, which were under threat all over the world.

'They are so important because of the job they do pollinating plants — it's not just about the products.'

Gordon and Pru said keeping bees was a huge learning curve.

'There's always something new to learn. Every bee keeper will be able to teach you something,' said Gordon.

So have they ever been stung?

'Lots of times!' said Gordon. 'Usually it's if you think you can do something quickly and you don't want to go to the trouble of getting kitted up!'