The bees arrived mid-morning and landed in a neighbouring front yard.

"I contacted council but I was told because the swarm's on private property there's nothing they can do about it,'' Kevin Burne, who contacted the Times on the matter, said.

"But there's thousands of bees here and there's people walking past. It's not good.''

"The kids are all in side - they're right.''

Mr Burne said council gave him the numbers of two bee keepers.

The Manning River Times contacted Vicki Grace from the Manning Valley Amateur Beekeepers Association about the problem and she attended and gathered the bees. Another member, Theo Van Winsen was on site as well.

Vicki commented it was the time of year for bees to swarm and this was about the fourth call the branch had received this week. 

She said information about who to contact when bees swarm can be found on www.beekeepers.asn.au 

Mr Burne was critical of council's response. "Legal and technical issues aside, council should adopt a moralistic attitude regarding the safety of the kids next door and the public walking past on council property," he said.

The Amateur Beekeepers' Association of NSW has branches at Central Coast, Hunter Valley, Illawarra, Macarthur, Mid North Coast, Nepean, Northern Rivers, Parramatta, Southern Highlands and Sydney Central.