A Bromley resident has had enough of living next to a neighbour who lives with live bees inside his house.

Karla Mccreath said last week, she checked the mailbox and saw bees flying around the driveway.

“I was a bit worried as my partner is allergic to bees. I looked around to discover our neighbour had thousands of bees actually inside his house.

I immediately phoned the council but they told me they couldn’t do anything and said it was perfectly legal to have hives in a residential area, but my concern was the bees in the house.”

Mccreath said she phoned the health department thinking it was a health hazard, but again was told they can’t help, but was advised to get police to do a welfare check on the man living inside.

“I phoned police and the lady gave me a reference number and said she would pass it on to the team to consider the information.”

Mccreath said she wouldn’t have a problem if her neighour’s house was stable.

However, “it’s falling apart and cracked, with pieces falling off all the time. It looks unsafe and uninhabitable.”

Mccreath said she has since spoken to her neighbour after contacting Chris Lynch Media.

“He said he was harvesting honey and was hoping to move them back to the outside nest.”

The Christchurch Hobbyist Bee Club website said “Christchurch City Council, Selwyn District Council, and Waimakariri District Council don’t have specific bylaws that prohibit or control urban beekeeping in this way.”

“However, local councils may take action if complaints of nuisance are made by neighbours regarding bees.”

The website said “this action might include asking the beekeeper to: erect a high fence so that the bees are forced to fly upwards when they leave the garden, move the hive to a different part of the section, remove the hive to another location completely.”

A Christchurch City Council spokeswoman confirmed a complaint had been made about the property but no action was taken.