A horrified homeowner called firemen for help when he discovered a huge swarm of bees had set up home underneath his kitchen ceiling.

The huge hive was tracked down after the family – in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, eastern China – noticed bees buzzing around the kitchen on 25th June.

Firefighters found the hive behind a panel in the kitchen, revealing a massive swarm of bees.

Footage of the swarm shows them clinging to what looks like a honeycomb as firefighters study them.

They discovered that the bees had entered the kitchen through a gap between a smoke exhaust pipe and the wall.

One fireman threw on a sting-proof bee suit and can be seen removing the hive, breaking it into pieces and dropping it in a large plastic bag.

He then sprayed the bees that had landed on the kitchen worktop with insecticide and removed the remaining stragglers from the space above the ceiling panel.

The firemen reminded the family to plug any gaps to prevent more bees or other insects from making their home in the residence again.

Netizen ‘Suzhou Fire’ commented on the video: “Not to be dealt with rashly”.