BLACKBURN Rovers’ pre-season friendly at Oldham Athletic went ahead after extensive work to remove a swarm of bees from the Boundary Park pitch.

Fans were kept outside of the ground as beekeepers were called to help remove bees from one end of Oldham’s pitch.

After lengthy work with the aid of a leaf-blower, the beekeepers departed and the turnstiles were opened at around 2.35pm ahead of the scheduled 3pm kick-off.

“It’s been an absolute hive of activity here today,” Oldham announced to supporters over the public address system once they got inside the ground.

“We’ve had a swarm of bees here and they didn’t pay the entrance fee so we had to throw them out.

“But I’m sure we’re all buzzing to be here today for this game.”