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A woman has been forced out of her office after thousands of wasps moved in while she was on holiday and built a giant nest.

Eilish Rothney, a warden at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, returned to discover the insects had invaded her workplace at Trinity Broads in Great Yarmouth.

Striking photographs show how the wasps have carefully pieced together bits of wood to build their home around a shelf of folders in the corner of the room.

Ms Rothney said: 'The nest is in my office; they collected scrapings from wood outside and meticulously built the nest and are still doing so.

'They get in through a hole in the door frame and tolerate me opening the door, going inside and doing some work.

'I try not to disturb them; they do a good job controlling leaf-eating insects otherwise our trees could be bare!'

Ms Rothney said she is now being forced to 'renegotiate office space' with the wasps.

She added: 'Thousands of new colleagues moved in without permission, skipped recruitment entirely and ignored the office hot-desking policy.

Striking photographs show how the wasps have carefully pieced pieces of wood to build their home around a shelf of folders in the corner of the room

The wasps collected scrapings from wood outside and 'meticulously built the nest and are still doing so'

Eilish Rothney (pictured), a warden at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, returned from holiday to discover the insects had invaded her workplace at Trinity Broads in Great Yarmouth

'Can't fault them on attendance, though.'

The reserve warden said she spends most of the summer carrying out conservation work and wildlife surveys, meaning the wasps were able to move in while she was away.

Ms Rothney said: 'In the summer I am out most of the time doing conservation work or surveys.

'I am the only member of staff on the reserve so it's only cleaned when I clean it.

'They started building when I was away on leave. They have been in residence for at least a month.'

Despite their reputation, Norfolk Wildlife Trust insisted wasps deserve more credit.

Reserves officer Robert Morgan praised their 'no-nonsense attitude' - in spite of several run-ins.

He said: 'Wasp stings are an occupational hazard in wildlife conservation work.

'It's resulted in 22 stings painfully scribbled in the accident book.'

The trust added wasps are an important part of a healthy ecosystem.

Anyone concerned about a nest has been advised to seek professional advice as some species are rare and disturbing nests can be dangerous.