The insects, apparently enjoying the warm spring weather as much as shoppers, filled the air around St John the Baptist Church, where they had apparently taken a break on a bush during a flight to find a new home.

They were spotted at around 3pm by church warden Chris Brown, who called in expert help to deal with them safely.

Did you see the bees?
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Mr Brown said: "I happened to be meeting someone at the church at 2.30pm and strangely enough I walked past the bush and didn't notice them. But 20 minutes later I came out and saw them swarming around. It was quite spectacular.

"They didn't seem to be spreading beyond the church railings to the street, but I thought they should be dealt with properly. I contacted the local beekeepers' association, and they sent one of their people out to remove the bees. When he arrived, the clump was about the size of a football and he estimated there were 25,000 bees in it, clustered together around the queen bee.

"He put the clump into a box and the few bees that had fallen to the ground walked in after them."

Swarms of honey bees are a common sight in the spring and early summer, with the Peterborough and District Beekeepers' Association dealing with about 80 in some years.

They occur when a bee colony becomes too big for its current nest and thousands of the insects fly off with the queen to find a new one, leaving some bees and a new queen behind to continue at their old base.

Secretary of the association George Newton said queens are not used to flying outside the nest and have to take rest stops as they move to their new locations.

When a queen takes a breather, the other bees cluster protectively around her, producing the type of large clump seen outside the church. Mr Newton said clumps had turned up previously on a street light nearby, suggesting there was an established colony in the area.

After removal, the bees are taken to hives run by members of the association, he added.

Mr Newton said clumps of bees are not dangerous, provided they are not disturbed.

He said: "Given the losses of bees we've had over the winter and early spring, these bees are more important to us than ever."

Clumps of bees can be reported to Mr Newton on 01733 243349, or the city council on 01733 453557.