Island beekeeper Sudi Austin is keeping an extra cautious eye on her hives as a mystery killer threatens colonies across the country.

But despite reports that British honey might soon become a thing of the past as the number of bees falls, Mrs Austin says the Isle of Sheppey is the perfect place to keep the tradition alive.

According to research, the number of bees in the UK has fallen by around 15 per cent in the last two years.

This spring beekeepers are returning to their hives after the winter to find the bees have disappeared – a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

Luckily Mrs Austin’s bees have survived at her farm in Elmley Road, Brambledown, and are healthy.

Flynns Bee Farms was founded by Mrs Austin’s grandfather Bill Flynn who was also responsible for the discovery that the honey by-product propolis is beneficial to arthritis sufferers.

She said the cause of CCD is unknown, but may be due to a parasite verroa which until 1987 was unknown in the British Isles.

Mrs Austin said her grandfather blamed the Channel Tunnel for helping the disease, common in France, to reach the British Isles.

She said historically bees were introduced from Italy and New Zealand that are very different to our native dark European honey bee.

These imported bees are not used to the cold and the British winters make them more susceptible to diseases. They have also bred with native bees producing a hybrid strain that is prone to parasites and disease.

“For years my grandfather campaigned against the Channel Tunnel and maintained that insects would arrive carrying diseases from the continent.

“He was worried that bees would get through and eventually after the tunnel was built verroa came through. It spread within weeks.

“It is like rabies and now that it is here there is little that can be done.”

Mrs Austin, 39, said she keeps bees which are as pure to the European variety as is possible and because the Isle of Sheppey is isolated cross-breeding is less likely.

She said: “We breed a relative of the European bee, it is difficult to keep the colony pure and it is important when other people start keeping bees that they know what they are doing.

“We always try to talk to people in the vicinity and encourage them to keep the same kind of bees to prevent cross-breeding.

“There are no pure European bees left in the UK. We are continuously trying to improve our breeds, it is a bit like breeding dogs.

“There are now large areas of bees that don’t like the cold and it leaves them susceptible to disease because they are not hardy.”