More Than £1.5k Raised After Young Girl's Beehive Stolen In West Sussex

Sunday, 18 April 2021 06:00

By Charlotte Baker @Ch4rtweets

The community have rallied around an 8-year-old bee enthusiast in West Sussex after her bee hive was reportedly stolen.

Poppy Liddle, from Selsey, is 'mad about bees'. She worked hard over the last couple of years to build her hive, spending all her time working to get donations and earn money to buy the things she would need to nurture her bee colony.

Last Thursday (April 10), she accompanied her father to check on her hive in Sidlesham to find that the hive and all the bees had reportedly been taken, leaving only the stand and a few lost bees that would die.

After the event, Claire Byrne, Poppy's step-mother, set up a fundraiser online so Poppy could try and start again.

The story seems to have really pulled on people's heartstrings, raising more than £15,000 in just over a week.

Contributors left comments saying "no child should have this sort of catastrophe in their young lives!"; "I was heartbroken when I saw what happened, especially that I kept bees for 2 years and I know how devastating this news can be!" And "Keep doing what you are doing, you are an inspiration!"

Claire explained that Poppy found her love for bees two years ago after learning about pollination at school. Much to her family's surprise, in 2019 she asked for a bee keeping experience for her birthday.

From there Poppy spent her time raising money to buy compost, seeds, and flowers. She shared what she was doing on Facebook and received donations of various bee-keeping things, such as the hive and hive tools. Her step-mother said the family were blown away by the generosity of the bee-keeping community.

Her father Lee helped her take care of the bees through the Autumn and Winter, checking they were protected and had food. They thrived, and in April it was finally warm enough to do the first inspection.

Claire said the brood were doing well, but that's when they were allegedly taken.

The family have been overwhelmed by the public's support, and Poppy has recorded a personal thank you.

If you'd like to donate to Poppy's bee hive appeal, click here.