A RETIRED farmer now knows why he hadn't seen many wasps buzzing around outside his property in the past couple of years - they were occupying a vast proportion of his loft.

Tony Hawes, of Redlands Farm, Little Compton, said he usually puts a jam jar with some treacle in it outside the guest house he runs to trap stray wasps in the summer, but there have been very few around.

"It was only when I went up into the loft for something that I saw this huge wasps' nest. I was amazed. It's the biggest I've ever seen and must be a couple of years old. I've seen a lot of wasps' nest around but nothing like this. If I can get it off the wall I may donate it to a school to look at," he said.

The nest is vacant now as the wasps have left it so it would be safe for the school to look at it.

Mr Hawes estimates the nest measures around two feet long by 18 inches across and is big enough to hold thousands of wasps.