A beekeeper attempts to move a swarm of bees enveloping a car in a busy town car park credit: Tom Moses/Mercury Press

The incident happened shortly after she had parked her car in the town centre of Haverfordwest, West Wales, before going shopping at lunchtime on Sunday 22 May.

Speaking about the incident on Tuesday, Mrs Howarth said she had “never seen anything like it.”

While she was away from the vehicle, thousands of bees descended on the boot of her car, causing many passers-by to stop and take pictures of the spectacle.

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park ranger Tom Moses, 41, raised the alarm when he spotted the swarm on the car parked outside the Three Crowns pub in Haverfordwest.

Concerned that the insects might be destroyed with pesticide, Mr Moses contacted two members of Pembrokeshire Beekeepers' Association, who came to help capture the swarm.

A swarm of bees sparked chaos in a high street when their queen got stuck in a car boot resulting in 20,000 bees chasing the car for two days credit: Tom Moses/Mercury Press

"It was spectacular. I was driving through when I spotted the big brown splodge,” he said.

"A lot of people were really amazed by it, cars were slowing down and people were taking pictures of it.

"I was a little bit concerned, with it being in the middle of town outside a pub, that someone might do something stupid and get hurt or do something stupid and hurt the bees," he said.

"As I drove past I noticed this big brown splodge on the back of a car.

"I had seen swarms before settle on things like this but never one as large as this. It was quite a thing to see - certainly a 'wow' moment.

"I was really worried that someone could get hurt by them or that someone might damage them in their bid to clear the car so I stopped to help out.

"It is fair to say I had a sting in the tale - I was stung to my head, neck and the back of my ears. But I took some anti-histamines and they are not too bad now.”

However, after returning to her car, Mrs Howarth drove home believing the problem had been resolved, only to discover on Monday morning that the swarm had followed her and were again covering the car.

Common carder bee photographed in Amersham, Buckinghamshire credit: PA

She was then forced to contact the beekeepers for a second time, who finally managed to remove the swarm for good by 6pm.

"One theory was that the queen was trapped in my car and the swarm were following,” Carol said.

"But they couldn't find the queen anywhere so I've no idea if that was right.

"Apparently bees can swarm at this time of the year and it is a very strong instinct for them to follow the queen."

"I still don't really understand why because they couldn't see the queen anywhere. Perhaps they just like the heat of my car."

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Roger Burns, of Pembrokeshire Beekeepers, said: "It is possible the queen had been attracted to something in the car - perhaps a sweet or food in the car.

"The swarm of around 20,000 had followed her and were sat around on the boot of the car.

"I brought over a cardboard box and carefully brushed them into there as quickly as possible as I was aware it was a big swarm in the middle of the high street.

"I got about 15 or 20 stings for my trouble. I then left the cardboard box on the roof while we waited for the last few hundred bees to leave the boot but then a gust of wind blew it off and the queen may have fled back to the boot again."

Retired GP Roger, 65, said: "I then had to leave and another beekeeper took up the watch however eventually the car owner returned and drove off.

"I have been beekeeping for 30 years and I have never seen a swarm do that. It is natural for them to follow the queen but it is a strange thing to see and quite surprising to have a car followed for two days. It was quite amusing."