Morning:
19°c
It’s amazing to learn they did any research at all — unless it was into farting and foreskins
Teenager becomes the first person to die of swine flu in London and the fourth in the country
More...
Unsuspecting couple slept entire night with wasp nest under pillow
Last updated at 23:22pm on 14.09.07A more unpleasant collection of bedfellows would be hard to imagine.
As Vicki and Clive Hames settled down for the night, they couldn't fail to notice the strange buzzing in the bedroom - but chose not to investigate.
On reflection, it's probably a good job that they didn't.
Scroll down for more...
The wasp nest stretched from the pillow all the way down the back of the bed
Unbeknown to the couple, a swarm of wasps had built a nest beneath the pillows of their bed.
And, remarkably, they both slept the entire night without realising.
It was not until the morning, when 57-year- old Mrs Hames pulled back her pillow to reveal the angry swarm that she was stung once on the back.
Her 60-year-old husband, meanwhile, escaped unharmed.
Mr and Mrs Hames, from Northampton, heard the "low buzzing sound" as they tried to drop off in the spare room of her stepfather's house.
Scroll down for more...
Lucky escape: Vicki Hames, husband Clive and daughter Jenny
But, assuming it to be a single wasp and feeling exhausted after a family get-together, they chose to ignore it.
"Clive was tired and told me the wasp could stay there for the night and to go to sleep," said Mrs Hames.
In the middle of the night she got up to visit the bathroom and saw a dead wasp in the bed.
Scroll down for more...
Bill Houlbrook: Had asked his cleaner to check the room before his family came to stay
Another wasp was flying around the lamp.
Mrs Hames, a health visitor, said: "I thought it was odd that there were two and I might have been sleeping on the dead one. But I swatted the wasp with my hairbrush, put them both in the bin and went back to sleep."
When she got up in the morning Mrs Hames could still hear the buzzing.
After tracing the sound to the bed, she pulled back her pillow to reveal the angry wasps which flew out and filled the room.
Mrs Hames's 85-year old stepfather Bill Houlbrook, whom the couple had been visiting with their 23-year- old daughter Jenny, later explained that the spare room had not been used for six months.
The wasps are thought to have got in through an open window and made a nest, which stretched beneath both pillows and down the back of the bed.
Mrs Hames added: "We had been drinking wine that evening with Bill and I suppose we may have been a bit tipsy when we went to bed."
Rather than call pest-control officers, Mr Houlbrook sprayed the wasps with insect repellent and vacuumed up the nest.
Mrs Hames added: "The only thing Bill was worried about was that we wouldn't want to visit him any more but we definitely will."
Reader views (5)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
They went THAT long without changing the sheets or pillow cases that the hornets could build a nest?
- Peter, Richmond Va USA
And this is why, ladies and gentlemen, cleaning should be a regular occurence. Even if the room hasn't been touched. You never know what's started living and thriving there since you last took a peek.
Cheers to Vicki and Clive, though, for handling the situation so well. Hopefully they remember to check strange beds in the future.
- L Trout, Torrington, WY, USA
We once had wasps build a nest in our central heating boiler. The boiler was off during the summer and they came in via the flue. It was very easy to get rid off them!
- Ian, Kingsbury, UK
" Rather than call pest-control officers, Mr Houlbrook sprayed the wasps with insect repellent and vacuumed up the nest. "
Wow... It's so refreshing, in this day and age, to read about somebody handling a very frightening situation in a such a calm sensical way. I was expecting emergency animal control response, tent fogging, implications of bioterrorism...
Huzzah for Vicki and Clive Hames!
- Daniel Ross, Costa Mesa, CA, USA
Thank God they are well, My dad is highly allergic to a mere bee, Hard to imagine how lucky they are, hope they count their blessings. I am glad to hear they did not get stung.
- Joey, San Francisco, Ca.
