Five ornamental Victorian beehives at Hodsock Priory were smashed when a 150-year-old oak tree came crashing down as a result of Thursday's gale-force winds.

Moments before the tree succumbed to the wind, forester Butch Wynn of Manton was next to it repairing a previously damaged beehive.

The hives each contained around 10,000 bees but a spokesman for the Priory insisted the bees were fine.

"It is sad to lose some of the hives, but thankfully the bees are safe. We can rebuild the hives quickly and in the meantime we have space in an old farm shed to keep them out of harm's way," said Brian Wilde, Hodsock Priory's bee keeper.

All this has happened only a week before the Gardens open for the Snowdrop Spectacular.

Lady Buchanan, whose Gardens are visited each February by 25,000 people, thanked everyone invovled in the clear-up for working so hard to clear the damage caused by the many trees and branches that came down in the high winds last Thursday.

Part of the tree that smashed through the hives will still be in place to show visitors to the Snowdrops how dramatic nature can be, added a spokesman.



Click here to visit the Hodsock Priory website.