Thousands of stinging bees descended on Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, causing a hive of activity among shoppers
The enormous cloud of flying insects caused a hive of activity among shoppers who were forced to run for cover.
Motorists driving through Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, said they were unable to see because of the swarm of bees.
Thousands of the stinging insects could be seen crawling across shop fronts.
Holly Donaldson, 26, who works at Savills estate agents, said: 'It was quite terrifying.
'My boss said "look out the window" and then we just ran for the keys to lock the windows.
The insects covered everything in sight, including walls and drivers said they were unable to see through the swarm
'There were just thousands of them. We couldn't see through the windows there were so many on them.
'A group of people walked through, then the police came and they stopped anyone from walking past.
'It was like nothing I've ever experienced before.'
Holly described how the bees just 'appeared out of nowhere' and said drivers struggled to get down the street because 'you couldn't see in front of you'.
She and her colleagues were forced to lock themselves inside for around 90 minutes until the bees were moved on.
Bee specialists have been drafted in to try and deal with the insects, which have been seen investigating other buildings.
The sky was thick with thousands of bees which 'appeared out of nowhere' and specialists have been drafted in to try and deal with the insects
Comment: A similar event happened in nearby London just over a week ago, see: Massive bee swarm descends on London during rush hour