THE local bee population will be kept going following a ‘sweet donation’ from a Saffron Walden company.

As the end of the ice cream season approaches, ice cream producer The Saffron Ice Cream Company has donated almost 100kg of sugar to help feed the bees throughout the winter. The donation was received by beekeeper Paul Allington, of Saffron Walden-based company Prospect Honey, who is also a member of the Saffron Walden division of the Essex Beekeepers Association.

Dominic Parry, on behalf of Saffron Ice Cream, said: “Bees are vitally important for pollination of crops, as well as providing food, and with bee colony losses reported to be double that of 2012 the problem has gained media attention.

“After such a great summer we wanted to say thank you. Being a community and nature conscious company, and hearing the sad news of dwindling bee populations, we felt this was a ‘sweet’ donation to make.”