Drivers in parts of Canada are being warned to keep vehicle windows closed after a truck carrying five million bees spilled onto a road.

Halton Regional Police said they received a call about 6.15am local time reporting the crates of bees had come loose from a truck and spilled onto Guelph Line in Ontario, just west of Toronto.

“Crates were literally on the road and swarms of bees were flying around,” Constable Ryan Anderson said.

He described the incident as “quite the scene”.

“The initial beekeeper that was on scene was apparently stung a few times.”

It is unknown where the bees were being transported and for what reason.

Pedestrians were asked to avoid the area and drivers were asked to close their windows as they passed by the area.

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About six or seven beekeepers arrived at the scene to assist after an appeal from police was put on social media.

It took around three hours to clear away the majority of the insects, that were collected and taken away.

Some crates were left behind for the bees to return to on their own.

In summer, a colony of honeybees tends to have about 50,000 to 80,000 bees according to the Canadian Honey Council, a national association of beekeepers.

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