A family's ten year battle with a 22,000-strong colony of bees is finally over after a pest controller removed them with a vacuum device.

The colony of bees, one of the largest Delta Pest Control in Coventry had ever seen, is now being moved to an apiary in the North of England to make honey for consumption.

The family had almost given up on removing the insects, which had colonised their guest bedroom, and had boarded up the room in which they had made their nest.

Bee experts told them the hive was too delicate to remove safely and numerous pest controllers simply refused the job because it was too dangerous.

One brave pest controller, Dave Bird, spent several hours hoovering up the bees before transferring them to a sealed container

Despite their large number and forced relocation, he said the bees were "calm and relaxed" and did not cause him any issues.

He said; "The homeowners have had an outstanding problem with a number of years.

"They were told by a number of pest controllers that it was impossible to remove.

"We opened it up to remove these bees.

"It's an exceptionally large colony for this time of year. We think there are around 22,000.