DURING the colder months, it is all too easy to look back through rose-tinted glasses at the long hot days of summer – the glorious sunshine, the fields of flowers and ... if you are like me, the red eyes and incessant sneezing.

It is hard to recall the daily horrors of hayfever during February, but anyone who suffers from it can well attest to its debilitating effects.

It has ruined many a picnic in the country for me and, I bet, quite a few others as well.

However, this year, you can make a difference – if you act now.

For this time of the year is just the right time to start treating yourself with a rather special substance that can help reduce the symptoms of hayfever and, in some cases, stop it completely.

Local honey – bought from your nearest Worcestershire Farmers’ Market – could be the answer all us hayfever sufferers are looking for.

The idea is simple: the bees collect nectar and pollen from the various plants, flowers, trees in your local area, then bring it back to the hive where they do their magic to turn it into honey.

The beekeeper then collects the honey – adds a little local pollen – and the sufferer then consumes the honey over the winter months before the next hayfever season.

The introduction of small amounts of pollen to the body encourages it to create an immunity that will have success on some, or maybe all, of the pollen strains. The body is now less affected by these pollens when they get airborne. No more sneezing and itchy eyes.

Retired police officer Frank Dooley and his wife Shirley run Beez Neez Honey, selling honey and related products.

Mr Dooley said: “We have pollen traps beneath the hive, so when the bees come into the hive a little of the pollen is brushed off their pollen sacs into a drawer below.

“It only brushes a little pollen off because it’s essential for the young bees. The pollen is then dried and mixed with the honey.

“You need to take two teaspoons of honey a day without fail. It gives you a resistance to hayfever – some people have a great improvement or even no hayfever at all. It works a bit like a vaccination.”

Mr Dooley had kept a few hives for a number of years at the couple’s home at Kingswinford, West Midlands, and, once he had a bit more time on his hands, they decided to start producing honey for friends and relatives.

Now, they have hives all around the Severn Valley and beyond.

He said: “We have a wide range of honey, including star flower, blossom, wild flower and lavender.”

Beez Neez Honey will be at the farmers’ market at St Peter’s Garden Centre, Norton, near Worcester, today between 9.30am and 2pm.

Next weekend’s market is at Droitwich from 9am to 2pm.

For more information about your local farmers’ markets, log on to wfmg.co.uk.