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Bee keepers in North Derbyshire are buzzing - thanks to a police initiative to curb a rise in the number of hive thefts.
 
Several beehives worth hundreds of pounds have been stolen in the county - so police have stepped in to offer anti-burglary kits to keepers.
 
Dozens of hives In Chesterfield, Dronfield, Clowne, Bolsover, Staveley and Buxton have been marked with the forensically-coded liquid called SmartWater, containing a unique code which can then be linked to the owner’s address when the hive is recovered. It can also be used to link the thief with the crime scene.

Safer Neighbourhood officers from Derbyshire have been visiting bee keepers to offer them the kits free, paid for by the Chesterfield Community Safety Partnership. Some brave officers even donned the beekeepers’ suits and applied the SmartWater to the hives themselves.

Supt Paul Berry - a bee keeper himself - said: “Beehives are worth a substantial amount of money and the theft of hives has become a national issue because of the increased value of bees. Through my contacts at the Chesterfield and District Bee Keeping Association we arranged the SmartWater Initiative and have now marked dozens of hives in the Chesterfield area."