Mass bee invasion closes school

A school has been forced to close after being infested by a swarm of bees.

Almost 300 pupils of Larkman Primary School in Norwich were sent home after thousands of the insects buzzed into the music department.

A spokeswoman for Norfolk County Council said no pupils had been stung and that pest controllers had sprayed a chemical to destroy the bees.

"The bees were found in a wall cavity of the school by pest control officers," the spokeswoman said.

"There is a rumour going round that a hive was destroyed on the Larkman housing estate yesterday," she said.

"Initially they settled in the school garden before moving inside the building.

"Pest control officers sprayed a chemical into the wall cavity. All of the bees will have died unfortunately."

All of the school's 299 pupils are expected to attend lessons on Friday morning.

A school governor will carry out an inspection of the school at 0530 BST.