TEN hives at a National Trust property at Buckland Monachorum have been vandalised.

Tens of thousands of bees could have been lost after the hives at Buckland Abbey were attacked on Saturday.

Seven of the ten hives were occupied. They were knocked over and other equipment damaged.

The Devon Beekeepers Asso-ciation were called in to help rescue the bees.

Bees have been kept at the abbey, former home of Sir Francis Drake, for hundreds of years, the association said. Each hive could contain more than 5,000 bees in the winter.

Beekeeper David Milford said: ‘This is a stupid act of vandalism and, although I keep bees of a generally quiet temperament, I hope the perpetrators got stung as many times as I did putting them all back together again.

‘I would just like to meet these people to explain to them the damage they have caused and what bees do for us as human beings.

‘It is vital that we keep honey bees going for pollination of plants.’

A spokesperson for the National Trust said: ‘We were sad when we heard about the damage to the hives and hope the bees that survived will recover soon, as they play such a vital role in nature.

‘We commend the bee keepers for all their hard work at restoring the hives.’