SOUTHEND’S Stock Road tip was forced to close after a swarm of bees was dumped with a trailer-load of garden waste.

The household waste and recycling centre shut after workers spotted the bees.

It reopened three hours later, after a beekeeper arrived to remove the insects.

Glenn Hobson, 59, of Woodgrange Drive, Southend, said: “I guess it’s not safe having a load of bees flying around, especially when some people are allergic.

“I would have been annoyed if I’d got here and couldn’t get rid of my car full of stuff. Maybe there should be more checks on what people bring to the tip.”

A Southend Council spokesman for said: “The site was closed as it was unsafe.

“Once we determined they were honey bees, we asked a beekeeper to come in and move them.”