Vandals Wreck West London Beekeeper’s £10k Hobby, Let Loose Half a Million Bees
Retired cameraman Brian Mitchison, 82, was left devastated after ‘stupid’ vandals smashed up his beehives in Greenford’s Litten Nature Reserve – unleashing around 600,000 bees and wrecking a decade of hard work.
Ten Years of Effort Destroyed in One Brutal Attack
Brian, who took up beekeeping thanks to a local group, had spent 10 years nurturing his bee colony, selling honey and giving free jars to locals. The buzzing hives also helped pollinate the nature reserve’s protected woods.
But last summer, Brian found the hives turned upside down and separated, with many bees lost. “The whole thing was wrecked, and I almost gave up,” he told MyLondon. “It took me ten years to get it where it is now and to do it correctly.”
“I’m not sure how they separated them; they would have been stung, but a lot of my bees are very docile because I don’t use chemicals on them. I felt nauseous and horrified. How could someone do this?”
Costly Hobby Left in Ruins – Local Support Sought
Replacing five-frame nucleus colonies, containing at least 15,000 bees, costs around £250. Wooden hives can run into hundreds of pounds too. On top of financial loss, Brian missed out on honey harvest from the destroyed hives.
He’s raised £2,000 so far on GoFundMe but needs around £5,000 to rebuild and repopulate the apiary. With queens laying up to 1,000 eggs daily, a full recovery will take time.
Not Alone – Beekeeping Buzz Killed by Vandals in Greenford
Brian revealed he’s not the only beekeeper hit by crime locally. “It happened to another beekeeper in Greenford,” he explained. “There are many thefts, and individuals steal them. You’re trying to do good for others, and these jerks come along and destroy it.”
He chose not to report the attack to police due to lack of CCTV and timing of discovery. “It would have been a waste of time in my opinion,” he said.
Support Brian’s fight to restore his buzzing backyard here.
