EXCLUSIVE Beekeeper whose hives and 400,000 bees were stolen has them replaced by wellwishers

A beekeeper whose hives and 400,000 bees were stolen by a thief is buzzing again after kind-hearted wellwishers replaced them.

Guy Barnes and his wife Kathrin were devastated when specialist thieves carted off their honeybees during a midnight raid at the Tresillian House country estate in Cornwall.

The couple’s story made headlines around the world, but police were unable to track down the thieves believed to be part of a gang that stole the hives to order.

Many of the stolen bees initially flew back to the site of the theft but perished without any hives to shelter within.

Guy, a third-generation beekeeper, and Kathrin were left heartbroken – but their faith in human nature has been restored thanks to support from the local beekeeping community and retailer Sports Direct.

Guy Barnes, whose hives and 400,000 bees were stolen by a thief, is buzzing again after kind-hearted wellwishers replaced them

Guy and his wife Kathrin were devastated when specialist thieves carted off their honeybees during a midnight raid at the Tresillian House country estate in Cornwall

The retail chain, which is launching a Save the Bumblebee campaign, stepped in to fund new hives in order to re-establish the colony.

Guy and Kathrin were also delighted when fellow beekeepers in Cornwall donated 300,000 bees – and their new colony will be ready in time for when bees become active fully again in the spring.

Guy said: ‘It’s fantastic to be keeping bees again after what happened last summer. When a tragedy like that occurs it’s horrible, but the flip side is that you are blown away by the amount of goodwill that can follow. 

‘We witnessed that at a community level from fellow beekeepers and also at a national level from Sports Direct. I was just blown away by all the offers of help.

‘I can’t thank everybody enough for their kind support. So far we now have three hives that are ready and in the coming weeks we’ll be putting out the rest of the hives.

‘April is a really exciting time because the bees will soon be emerging once again into the spring sunshine. During the winter, many die off with just a few remaining in the colony and feeding off their honey, or in the case of bumblebees, hibernating in the ground.’

He added: ‘As the weather improves we go into the hives to check the queen to make sure that she is laying eggs. Then as soon as the weather is warm enough the flowers start to bloom the bees will come out in greater numbers. 

‘Eventually, they will start to swarm and we can utilise the rest of our new hives.

The couple’s story went viral and made headlines around the world, but police were unable to track down the thieves believed to be part of a gang that stole the hives to order 

‘It’s brilliant to see the bees flying again. This time of year tree blossom is very important as their food source. Our colony is close to a fruit orchard so over the next couple of weeks there will be an explosion of colour.’

Meanwhile, Sports Direct is joining forces with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and king of the jungle Harry Redknapp to help save bumblebees from extinction by growing the wildflowers that bees use for food.

The retailer is giving away 1.5million wildflower seed papers that are free when customers purchase a Save the Bumblebee bag-for-life or giant mug. Seed papers have tiny seeds embedded within them and are easy to plant.

Guy said: ‘Bees rely on flowers and plants for their food, so I fully support the campaign to encourage people to grow more wildflowers. If you want to help bees then get behind the campaign and get growing!’

Guy explained he followed in the footsteps of his mother and his grandfather in becoming a beekeeper. He hopes that his daughter Maya, aged 5, and son Josha, aged three, (pictured with Guy and Kathrin) will one day also have an opportunity in future to choose to keep bees.

However, within the UK, two important bumblebee species are already extinct and eight are in need of urgent help due to the loss of grasslands. Yet experts estimate that around one-third of the food that we eat ultimately relies on pollinators like bees and other insects to help to produce it.

Guy added: ‘Without bees, we would have a huge issue with our food supply. They are vital to the ecological system because they pollinate not only flowers and trees, but also the plants and crops that we take for granted for much of the food on our plates.

‘Bees have looked after us for millennia but now they urgently need our help. Environmental change has led to a loss of the natural habitat they need to thrive. They feed on live flowers and flowering crops, the loss of which has led to a dramatic decline in bee numbers.

Sports Direct is joining forces with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and king of the jungle Harry Redknapp to help save bumblebees from extinction by growing the wildflowers that bees use for food. [File image] 

‘All bees including honeybees play a vital role in pollination, but the bumblebee is special because it is the most effective pollinator of all. It goes out in all weathers whereas other species won’t go out when it is raining. 

‘Unlike honeybees, which rely mainly today on human interaction in hives, bumblebees are truly wild and they live in small burrows in the ground.

‘Everybody can do their bit to help bees, you don’t have to have a huge garden. Even if you just have a window box it is really important to give them food. 

‘It’s best to have a good mix of flowers because ideally you don’t want everything to bloom at the same time. It’s better if you can have a mixture to ensure there are flowers at different times throughout spring and summer.’