SUPER ants which cause a potential fire hazard and were eradicated from a National Trust property in Bucks, appear to have been found again further afield.

The Asian super ant, also known as the fire ant, was first found in Britain in 2009 at Hidcote Manor Garden in Gloucestershire.

But they were also found at Stowe Landscape Gardens in Bucks in 2010, after being brought in on a piece of stone.

This colony was eradicated very quickly, as they were found early on, but the problem persists at the property in Gloucestershire as the colony had grown very large before it was found.

A colony has also recently been discovered in Hendon, north west London.

Jo Hodgkins, a wildlife and countryside adviser at the National Trust, said: “There has been a lot more work done on them in Spain and some of the Mediterranean places, where they have bigger problems there with big colonies building up in power sockets and plug sockets.

“We don’t know why they are attracted to electrostatic fields, but they cause a nuisance and are a potential fire hazard once the colonies build up.”