THOUSANDS of bees swarmed outside a York man’s home – then started dropping dead and dying on the pavement.

Ian Jameson, of Osbdaldwick Lane, said he was in his garage yesterday afternoon when he noticed bees flying in.

He said: “I looked out and there were thousands of them swarming in the air. Then they started dropping to the ground, and they were writhing on the pavement, while other ones blew away.”

The National Bee Unit said with oil seed rape coming out, it was natural for an early swarm of bees to appear.

A spokesman said: “When they move from the hive, they tend to settle in a hedge before they find somewhere to move on to.

“There is a high mortality rate in bee colonies and dead bees would be more likely to be noticed on a concrete pavement.”