A huge swarm of bees descended on an unsuspecting residential street yesterday and settled themselves on the front of a Citroen C1.

Mother-of-three Ami Price was walking along Grange Road, Hove, when she heard an unusual noise.

She said: “I was on my own, messing about on my phone and not really paying attention, when I heard this weird buzzing sound.

“I looked up and suddenly realised I was in the middle of a big swarm of bees and most of them were all over the bonnet of a blue car.

“They were very friendly bees though, they weren’t bothered by me at all and I wasn’t stung.”

Ami, 27, posted the pictures of the swarm on the Buzz On Boundary Road Facebook page and was soon put in touch with Councillor Robert Nemeth, who is a well-known beekeeper.

She said: “I spoke to his partner who told him what was going on and he was with me within about an hour to catch them.”

Cllr Nemeth has been keeping bees for five years and produces thousands of jars of honey every year.

He said: “There’s nothing unusual about bees swarming at this time of year, it’s to do with the weather getting warmer.

“The bees on Grange Road were in transit, looking for a new home, so it was my job to convince them my box was a better home for them than the car bonnet.”

Cllr Nemeth explained that not only did the box smell of bees, but it is also a cavity for them to take shelter in and has a protectable entrance.

He said: “It only really starts to work once the queen bee is in the box.

“She is impossible to spot but once all the other bees start to fly in, you can tell she’s already made her move.”

The bees will now stay with Cllr Nemeth for the rest of their short lives, with the lifespan of a summer bee only six weeks long.

A winter bee lives for up to six months and a queen bee can live for as long as six years.

The Grange Road bees have now been settled in a hive at The Ginger Pig in Hove.

Another swarm has been spotted in the eaves of the roof of Sainsbury’s in West Hove, but it is too high for Cllr Nemeth to attempt a rescue.