A retired engineer is set to become an accidental beekeeper after deciding to keep a thousands-strong swarm that appeared in his garden.

Dave Freiter and his neighbours were left gobsmacked when the colony turned up outside his home in Bower Street, Maidstone, and settled on his waste bin.

The 62-year-old called in help from the volunteers at Mid Kent Beekeepers, and within a few hours they had the swarm under control. They are now assisting Mr Freiter with finding a hive they can call home.

“We couldn’t see the other side of the road,” Mr Freiter said of the density of the swarm, “and I thought, ‘we’ve got a problem here’.

“Within an hour or so they had made a big nest on the side of my black bin. So I’ve gone onto the internet and I’ve got a beekeeper, and she came and took them away.

“She has given us some pamphlets and books because we want to buy a hive now to put the bees in.”

Mr Freiter said it appears he has now inadvertently become a beekeeper but, as a self-confessed nature lover, he is really looking forward to what looks set to become a new hobby.

The plan is to find a spot at a local farm where the hive can be installed, and in future he hopes to be able to produce honey which could be sold for charity.

“Obviously you’ve got to get all the gear, I’m going to need a suit-thing,” he said.

Rita Kotsis, a neighbour on Bower Street, was working from home when the swarm arrived outside their houses on Friday afternoon.

“I heard this huge buzzing sound, and I popped my head out of the window and there was a swarm of bees,” she said.

“They kept moving down the street, and then they just stopped at my neighbours house and swarmed around there for a good two hours before settling onto the dustbin.

“It was absolutely amazing, it was a nice experience to see it.”

Further bees have appeared in Mr Freiter’s garden yesterday and today, but in much smaller numbers, potentially attracted by pheromones from the first swarm.

The British Beekeepers Association says swarming is a natural process whereby a colony reproduces when the old queen leaves with some of the bees.

Swarms are most likely to occur on warm, sunny days from May to the end of July. Anyone who encounters a swarm is advised to go online and find details of a local beekeeper.