Witnesses have been urged to come forward after the hives disappeared from Blackwood Lane near Llangollen, North Wales, over the weekend.

In a video update on Twitter, PCSO Iwan Owen, of the North Wales Rural Crime team, said: "Bit of an unusual one for you today - we've had reports that 14 beehives with incumbent bees have been stolen from this location sometime between 8am Saturday morning and possibly about midnight on Monday.

"This is an appeal for anyone who's seen anything suspicious in that time - and to the beekeeping community.

"They are likely to have been taken late at night after the bees have presumably returned to the hive."

He added that 14 hives have gone so its "likely" to be a vehicle similar to a long wheelbase Ford Transit or a trailer.

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PCSO Owen said if people are aware of "somebody who has a sudden influx of beehives (or) someone who's starting to sell new hives" to get in touch with the force.