WHEN a swarm of bees needing rescuing from a children’s play park, there was only one man to buzz.

Robert Nemeth, the Wish Ward councillor dubbed “Bee Man”, rescued a swarm of honey bees from the pirate play equipment at Hove Lagoon on Friday.

The professional keeper was called to the rescue at midday by Gary Heal, who runs the attraction with his family.

He said: “The swarm looked like a black cloud and came so quickly, we closed some of our equipment down.

“Fortunately our friend and bee keeper Robert came to the rescue and we were fully operational again the next day.”

Cllr Nemeth coaxed the swarm into a box, where they will be put into quarantine for two weeks before being taken to a larger apiary.

He said: “I was initially sceptical that there was actually a swarm of honey bees as it is so late in the season.

“Upon arrival, it was immediately clear that it was indeed honey bees. I was delighted to safely rehouse them and will try to keep residents updated on their progress.”

It is expected the bees will become a viable colony and will produce honey from the start of next year’s season, Cllr Nemeth said.

The Conservative representative started beekeeping about six years ago and now owns a business called Hove Honey. The product can be found in Gratitude Tree Grocers in Richardson Road, Hove and Kernel of Hove in Victoria Terrace. It can also be found in Terre à Terre in East Street, Brighton.

Cllr Nemeth said it’s been an “average season” for bees and he has picked up 15 swarms this year.

His beekeeping escapades have been well documented in The Argus, earning him the title of “Bee Man”.

After receiving a call from a resident, Cllr Nemeth will quickly put on his suit and head to a swarm’s rescue.

“I go as far as Hassocks or Shoreham,” he said.

In 2018, Cllr Nemeth wore a Hove T-shirt as he appeared on BBC2’s Nadiya’s Family Favourites with Nadiya Hussain.

The episode saw Nadiya visiting two of Robert’s 30 honey hives in Hassocks before suiting up in bee gear to extract and taste some fresh honey.

Robert said: “The producer randomly got in contact, probably after they saw stories in The Argus about the city’s Bee Man, which is of course me.”