Families in a popular park fled in terror when a huge swarm of angry wasps descended on them.

It happened this afternoon at the Victoria recreation ground in London Road, Canterbury, as parents and children played and picnicked on the field.

The extraordinary and frightening incident was witnessed by Gary Curtis who was test flying a drone with a friend.

"I have never seen anything like it, there were thousands of them. It was a huge swarm like a dark cloud and they certainly seemed mad about something," he said.

Gary says he sprinted to his car for cover and while shouting out to others to get away.

"People were just there chilling out and enjoying the sunshine but upped and left everything and got away as quickly as possible.

"You really don't want something like that attacking you which can have serious consequences."

Experts say wasps swarm primarily to protect their nest and have been known to attack people and animals if disturbed. They also say that wasp swarms are often wrongly identified when they are actually honey bees

But dad-of-four Gary from Herne is convinced they were wasps and says the swarm was along the tree line at the edge of the field where he believes they may be nesting.

"They were furiously buzzing around like crazy for a good 10 minutes before eventually drifting off," he said.

"But I think people need to be aware if there is a wasp nest up there."

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