An amateur beekeeper died of anaphylactic shock after being stung when he was not wearing a protective hat, according to a coroner.
As reported by BBC News, senior coroner Caroline Sumeray said Alan Ransom, of Godshill on the Isle of Wight, died in May 2024 at the island's St Mary's Hospital.
Sumeray said that the 55-year-old, born in Epsom, Surrey, died after "developing an anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting on his left ear, after he failed to wear a beekeeper's hat." She recorded a conclusion of misadventure.
Mr Ransom, who was born in Epsom, Surrey, and worked professionally as a civil engineer, had also cultivated a significant online presence. Since July 2022, he had run a YouTube channel under the name "The Vectis Beeman," where he openly described himself as a "hobbyist beekeeper."
He was documenting "my mistakes and my successes as I endeavour to progress from a complete newbie to a more experienced and rounded beekeeper", according to the channel description.
In 2023, Mr Ransom had garnered local attention when he successfully rehomed a substantial swarm of approximately 2,000 bees from the car park at the headquarters of Island Roads in Newport, his place of employment, relocating them to one of his hives situated at Marvel Solar Farm.
