BEEKEEPERS say they could run out of honey by Christmas due to the effects of bad weather on the bee population.

Lincolnshire bee farmers say this year's wet weather was largely to blame for bees being confined to hives which has prevented them from foraging for nectar.

A study by the British Beekeepers' Association found that nearly one in three of Britain's 240,000 honeybee hives failed to survive the summer.

Beekeeper Fred Parker (69) of Horncastle has kept hives for 57 years and says this year was his worst honey harvest yet.

"I've collected a quarter of what I usually do," he said.

"I've never known it so bad and I will have sold out just after Christmas.

"Unless we get a sudden surge of bees some orchards will most definitely suffer next year.

"But we also need bees to pollinate other crops including oil seed rape and broad beans."

Commercial bee farmer Neil Pont keeps 300 hives between Caenby Corner and the Lincolnshire border with Nottinghamshire.

"I sell most of my honey in bulk at a tonne a time but I have had nothing like that to sell for months," he said.

"We've had less than a third of the crop we usually get and although I have a few regular customers I have kept some back for, I'm still running out.

"The Co-op and Asda have been chasing me and I've been trying to get those contracts for years. Now, ironically, they are chasing me in a year that I can't supply them."

As well as the wet weather, parasites that have already had a devastating effect on bee populations in America are becoming problematic here too.

"There is a parasitic mite called Varroa that sucks the bees' blood and it has built up a resistance to the chemical we have been using kill it," said Mr Pont.

"There's also a fungus called Nosema which weakens a bee's immune system and then it dies from a virus.

"The English apple industry is not in great shape anyway but if there are not enough bees to pollinate the orchards next year there will be a big impact and pollination fees will be high."

Lincoln and District Beekeepers' Association secretary Alan Campion said: "Most of the English honey will be sold by Christmas.

"A lot of people who like it are willing to pay a premium for it."