Punters enjoying a relaxing drink in a city pub garden leapt out of their seats in shock as thousands of bees descended on the area.

A colony of honey bees swarmed a parasol at The Cellar House at around 5.30pm on Saturday, May 14.

Pub bar manager Alexander Ward, 29, said he was in "awe and disbelief" when he first heard the buzz of the bees from afar.

He said: "We didn't know what to do at first.

"It was remarkable - it isn't something you see every day."

As a nature lover, Mr Ward said he wasn't worried about being stung and urged people to remain calm.

"I've always been fascinated by honey bees so it was cool to see," he said.

"There were some customers who got a bit worried and a few dogs raced around the garden to chase the bees.

"But we told everyone to come inside and called the Norfolk Beekeepers' Association."

A member of the beekeeping team gallantly arrived to save the day and moved the swarm on with a smoker and a temporary hive.

The aim was to shake the bees from the parasol to stir them up in order to persuade the queen to enter the hive and encourage the other bees to follow.

A Norfolk Beekeepers' Association spokesman said: "We are right at the height of swarm season at the moment so swarms are fairly common - this one was unusual because of its size.

"It could quite possibly have been two swarms that somehow got tangled up during their initial flight and ended up all landing at the same location.

"We will find them a new home in a hive."

The spokesman also had a message for people if they did happen to come across a swarm of bees, urging people "not to panic".

He said: "The important thing to remember about a swarm is not to panic - they are on their way to find a new home and are not normally any danger.

"Once they are clustered as they did under the pub umbrella they are mostly just resting until the scout bees decide on a final nest site."