Honey bee attraction buzzing with visitors

Hundreds of thousands of bees are producing honey at a new apiary and attracting new visitors to a beauty spot.

The project at Sandwell Valley Country Park is thought to be among the first in the region and bosses have taken possession of 14 bee hives, each occupied by about 30,000 bees after teaming up with Wednesbury-based bee keeper Mark Cooksey.

They have also planted exotic plants to encourage the insects. The honey will be harvested soon and it is hoped it will be ready to sell by mid-September.

One of the hives is behind glass so visitors to the attraction, off Salter's Lane in West Bromwich, can see the bees at work.

"Bees are vital for helping to pollinate the plants," said Sandwell Valley senior countryside officer Malcolm Freeman. "We have had bee hives in the past but this is the first time we have done this on an organised footing.

"All our visitors so far have been fascinated by it. Especially the observation hive where they can see them all working together."

The park had about eight hives last year and sold almost 550 jars of honey.

Sandwell Council leader Jan Britton, a member of the Bees for Development Trust, has previously said he would be keen to see wild flower meadows created in Sandwell to attract bees.

Meadows consisting of flowers, such as poppies and cornflowers, have already been set up in inner city sites in Birmingham to boost pollinating insects whose numbers are declining.

About eight meadows have been created in Birmingham and recently featured on BBC series Bees, Butterflies and Bloom.