Brits have been buzzing about local honey as a miracle cure for hayfever - but experts have now swatted down the sweet myth, warning it could do more harm than good this summer.

As the UK pollen count soars and sufferers reach for natural remedies, online searches for 'is local honey good for hayfever?' and 'eating local honey for allergies' have exploded, according to Google Trends. But the popular belief that spooning down honey from your local bees can protect you from sneezing, itchy eyes and scratchy throats has no science behind it - and could leave allergy sufferers worse off, according to pharmacists.

Allan Green, a leading pharmacist and hayfever specialist at Weldricks Pharmacy, says the trend is misleading. "This is a widely discussed hayfever remedy," he explains, "but there’s no solid scientific evidence that eating honey will cure your pollen allergy."

The theory behind the trend is that bees collect local pollen to make their honey, so by consuming it, people can supposedly build immunity to the very allergens causing their hayfever.

But Allan says the facts simply don’t add up, explaining: "The actual amount of pollen in finished honey is tiny. It’s unlikely to be concentrated enough to make any real difference to your immune system."