Megacolony: The 6ft by 5ft nest was 15 times bigger than the UK average and home to up to half a million waspsBritain's biggest wasp nest has been discovered in a pub in Southampton, Hants measuring a staggering 6ft by 5ft and containing half a million insects.
The record-breaking infestation - almost as big as a Smart car - was discovered in the chimney stack of the unnamed pub before being destroyed by pest controller Sean Whelan.
Mr Whelan said: 'It was scary as hell but it is what I am trained for - I just pulled out my iPod and listened to Bat Out Of Hell to get me through the job.
'I killed all the wasps but the nest is still in the attic where it will be left to disintegrate.'
Experts from Oxford University have verified the nest is Britain's biggest ever and the biggest anywhere in the world in the last 50 years.
David Baldock, from the Bees, Wasps And Ants Records Society, added: 'It is certainly an enormous nest and certainly a record. I have never seen a nest that size.'
Pest controller Sean Whelan: 'It was an amazing sight - I couldn't believe my eyes'The nest was 15 times bigger than the UK average and nearly as big as a Smart car, which is slightly longer at 8ft 10in by 5ft 1in.
Mr Whelan said: 'It was without doubt the biggest nest I have ever seen. It was an amazing sight - I couldn't believe my eyes.'
Using a telescopic pole, he cracked open the top of the nest and squirted the colony with a powerful insecticide.
Kevin Higgins, from the British Pest Control Association, said: 'It’s certainly the biggest I have seen and would be a UK contender.
'I believe the largest ever was found on a farm in New Zealand in 1963 and measured 12ft long by 5.9ft in diameter.'
source: dailymail
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