Police in northern England are investigating after honey worth around 1,300 Euros was stolen from a hobby beekeeper.
David Allinson from the town of Eggleston in County Durham said he and his wife Janice had been “flabbergasted” after finding out about the theft.
The long-time leisure-time beekeeper told the Teesdale Mercury, a local weekly newspaper, that they expected a “bumper crop” this year.
Allinson said: “There have been years that we didn’t get honey but this year everything came together and it looked like a good year.”
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The intruders took around 240lb (109 kilograms) of honey worth between GBP 1,000 and 1,200 (EUR 1,140-1,370) with them, according to the newspaper.
Speaking to the Teesdale Mercury, Allinson – who took up beekeeping 20 years ago – said: “I reported it to the police and they’d never heard of honey being stolen before. In all the years I’ve kept bees I’ve never had the honey stolen either.”
He added: “They have been considerate thieves though. We did feel grateful that they had respect for the bees – they put the top covers back so the bees didn’t die.”
His wife Janice however criticised the incident as “downright mean.”
