'Bee team' turns out for cup semi-final

Guilsfield Reserves had been due to host their Mid Wales Trophies Consolation Cup semi-final against Morda United.

Before the evening game referee Roger Parker had found everything fine at the ground, near Welshpool, 20 minutes before kick off.

But by the time the teams reached the pitch, a swarm of bees had occupied a three-foot length of one goalpost.

Mr Parker made the decision that it would be too dangerous to play with so many bees nearby and said Wednesday's match could not go ahead.

It was then moved to Morda's home ground – but the relocation did the hosts little favours as Guilsfield won 3-1.

Mr Parker said: "This is the first time in 35 years of refereeing that I have had to postpone a football match as a result of bees."

Rob Drury, secretary of Morda FC, said he'd also never heard of anything like it before. They looked in the afternoon and there were some bees on the goalpost, but only one or two.

"When they looked again when they went to put the nets up there were a few more bees, but not too many. Then when they were about to start the game and came out at 6.30pm there were bees filling the post," he said. "The ref then called it off. There must have been hundreds of bees. They just appeared in half an hour.

"I've never heard of anything like that before ever, and no one else I've talk to has either. It must be the first time it's ever happened."

The game, which had already had to be postponed from last Friday due to a waterlogged pitch, was moved to Morda's pitch in Weston Road, near Oswestry.

After a quick set up of the pitch, the game kicked off at the third attempt at 7.30pm.

Mr Drury said he was able to mark the pitch while other officials set up the nets in under 20 minutes.

"It's the quickest I've ever set up," he said. "We had some help from the other lads. It was a good game in the end – just a shame that we lost."

Jill Thomas, a member of the Shropshire Beekeepers' Association, who has three hives, said bee swarms were often seen in the spring. "Swarms are the bees' natural way of ensuring the population increases," she said.

"When a colony is getting too big the bees will produce a new queen and also go off scouting for a new home.

"The new queen then leaves with a proportion of the bees. They will swarm something, perhaps an empty tree, or in this instance a goalpost, while their new home is being checked out."

"Beekeepers will always try to prevent this happening as it means they could lose half of the hive. Bees are fascinating creatures – which is why we keep them."