A survey claims that nearly 2m households in the Northwest region are plagued by wasps' nests.

The survey warns millions of people could be stung by wasps this summer as the warm spring leads to a significant increase in their numbers.

New findings from the AA’s Home Emergency Response Service reveal that three-in-four homeowners are completely unprepared for the wasp invasion, and it says it is expecting an increased number of claims over the summer from people looking for nests to be dealt with.

The research reveals that 7% of the adult population, more than 3.3m people, were stung by a wasp last year.

More than half-a-million (533,000) say they have already been stung by a wasp this year, and the AA says the rise in wasp numbers could lead to a much higher level of wasp nests and consequently stings this year.

Almost half of Britons (43%) have previously found a wasps’ nest in their home, according to the AA’s findings - 1.9m adults in the Northwest say they have nests in their homes.

Tom Stringer, head of AA home emergency response, said: “The early, prolonged warm weather in spring appears to have led to the early arrival of wasps, which means they have longer to build bigger nests over the summer that can house several thousand wasps each.

"We are expecting a higher call volume than we normally would from people looking to have nests removed from their home.

“It’s worth thinking about it now while a nest can be removed or sprayed in the early stages rather than later in the summer, when it’s more established.

"Finding a wasps’ nest can be very unpleasant and indeed frightening."