Photo: Beekeeper who was allergic to bees killed by a single sting after he refused to give up his hobby despite his father's desperate pleas

A beekeeper who knew he was allergic to bees was killed by a single sting despite pleas from his father to give up his hobby.

Steven Adderson, 39, had promised to 'be careful' when his worried father Graham begged him to forget about his hobby.

But the popular engineer from Downham Market in Norfolk, who was six foot nine, received a deadly sting after he forgot to put on special protective boots when he went to check out a 'rogue swarm' at a neighbour's house.

Now his father Graham has spoken out to warn of the extreme dangers of anaphylactic shock, which thousands of people are at risk of suffering when stung.

Mr Adderson, who owns a fish and chip shop in the town, said he repeatedly urged his son to give up his two-year hobby and his beloved bees.

The father-of-three said: 'When we found out that he was allergic to bees I said to him "I shouldn’t bother with those bees - it could kill you".' said the father-of-three.

'But he said "I will be all right, I will be careful".'

Mr Adderson explained that on the morning of his son's death, the 39-year-old was on his way to work when he went to investigate the angry bees at a neighbour’s house.

He explained: 'He put his suit on but I think he was in a rush to get to work and forgot to put the boots on and got stung on the ankle as a result.

'He could not find the queen bee.'

Steven, who always carried an EpiPen adrenaline shot with him, managed to stagger back home and call 999.

He told the operator he was feeling faint and light-headed but seconds later he collapsed.

'When the ambulance arrived they emptied every bit of adrenaline they had into Steven and rushed him to hospital but they couldn't do anything for him,' added Mr Adderson.

The freak tragedy stunned the town and hundreds of family, friends and local people packed St Edmund Church in Downham for Steven’s funeral service on June 30.

Steven, whose death left his fiancée Emma and brothers Philip and Daniel devastated, was also a big fan of Land Rovers.

Mr Adderson will now be taking part in a charity motor show in Snetterton, Norfolk, next month with his beloved MG XPower SV and will be selling passenger rides.

His father Graham, pictured, had urged his son to give up his hobby after learning he was allergic to bees. He is now speaking out about the dangers of anaphylactic shock 

He warned: 'I would just urge people with all my heart to be very careful with bees - if one lands on you, don’t whack it off, just blow it away.'

An Office of National Statistics spokesman said only one person was killed by a bee sting in the UK in 2012 and none last year.

Gill Maclean, of the British Beekeepers Association, said Steven’s death was 'an extremely tragic and extremely rare' case.

Ms Maclean said: 'If you know you are allergic then the sensible thing to do is to give beekeeping up or not start it.

'The most important thing we would say is to get the training and education.

'But bees don’t set out to sting people as they die straight away afterwards - they are far more interested in finding a flower.'