An extremely dangerous plant has spread across Salford in recent weeks, environmental campaigners are warning.
Volunteers from the Mersey River Basin Trust charity have discovered Giant Hogweed on the banks of the River Irwell near Frederick Road in Salford.
A planned riverside cleanup was cancelled earlier this week because of the discovery.
Just brushing past this plant can cause a severe and painful reaction.
Children and those with sensitive skin are especially at risk.
Hogweed, a leafy green relative of Cow Parsley, contains chemicals known as ‘photo-sensitising furanocoumarins’, which can prevent the body from protecting itself from UV light which can lead to severe burns.
Anyone who comes into contact with the plant should seek immediate medical advice.
It’s an invasive plant which if left unchecked can grow up to 3 metres (10ft) high.
© http://www.torfaen.gov.uk
The burns clear up within a few weeks, but it can take up to seven years before skin can be exposed to sunlight.
Last June two people from Salford suffered burns to their skin after coming into contact with the toxic plant.
In Clifton Country Park a sunbather suffered severe burns and blisters to her back after lying on Giant Hogweed, while four children were also were also left injured after coming into contact with the plant, again in Clifton Park.
The sap causes irritation and blisters – Department of Dermatology,
Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.
It’s not only harmful to human health, but to animals as well.
So now a warning has gone out to dog walkers in Salford and also to children who could be playing by the river banks.
Hogweed typically grows in summertime, so it is quite rare to see this so early in the year. It normally takes two to three years for the plants to reach maturity.
It’s thought the Boxing Day floods in Salford may have helped spread Hogweed seeds downriver from the Bury and Bolton areas and deposited them along the length of the River Irwell.
More recently the seeds have spread to private properties and public parks.
© http://japaneseknotweed.com
Reports suggest that Salford City Council are competent in removing Giant Hogweed, but further upstream it’s been suggested that Bolton Council are taking a reactive approach to the issue rather then a proactive approach, relying on reports by members of the public before taking action.
In a statement a spokeswoman for Bolton Council said: “We will be going out to inspect for giant hogweed later in the year and where accessible and practical, we will treat and remove it.”
Bury Council released this statement to SalfordOnline.com: “We take action each year to tackle giant hogweed, which involves spraying affected sites before the plant flowers in spring.
“It is important to realise that we can only carry out such work on council land. To deal with the problem across a wider area would require all landowners to carry out the work on their land too.
“We do have signs up in our parks that shows people what giant hogweed looks like and that it may be present along the river banks.”
Mersey Basin Rivers Trust issues warning after discovering Giant Hogweed in Salford
Mike Duddy, founder of The Mersey Bank Rivers Trust says, “Thankfully more people are becoming aware of the dangers that Giant Hogweed presents to human health.
“The Mersey Basin Rivers Trust are keen to stress to residents the importance of identifying these dangerous plants in their early stages of growth as if the plant is allowed to grow unchecked then after a year or two it can only be eradicated by a specialised contractor and the cost of this can run into the thousands of pounds.
“If you recognise this plant growing within your properties boundaries then you can treat it by simply spraying the plant with the common weed killer “Roundup” available from your local hardware store.”
Once mature, Giant Hogweed can be killed using controlled chemicals, but only be used on private land.
Business or council premises require workers to have a City & Guilds qualification to use the chemical – training which can cost in excess of £1,000.
Due to the widespread issue around the Salford area it’s been reported that The Broughton Trust have paid out £4,800 to train and qualify four volunteers from The Mersey Bank Rivers Trust to help combat this.
Duddy continued: “While most residents are conscientious in dealing with these dangerous invasive plants – people are at the mercy of their neighbours and landowners upstream of their property who might be allowing these plants to grow and spread seeds.”
Giant Hogweed is a notifiable plant under the the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, but regulators found the law was difficult to enforce, so is now covered under the recently reformed Anti Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
The law firmly puts responsibility for the management, control and eradication of Giant Hogweed under local authority powers, under the “community trigger” for reporting anti-social behaviour.
The law allows councils to issue £100 fixed penalty notices to private land owners who allow Hogweed to grow on their property, with further escalation for non-compliance eventually leading to a maximum penalty of £20,000.
Mersey Basin Rivers Trust have produced a factsheet – downloadable here with much more information about the plant’s life cycle and how to treat burns caused by Giant Hogweed.
