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Sightings of a toxic plant which has left several children in the UK with third-degree burns this summer have been confirmed in the Somerset area.

Giant Hogweed can cause ulcers and blindness and has been called Britains most dangerous plant by some.

LATEST - Warning from mum about another dangerous plant after son picks up injuries at beauty spot.

The recent hot weather raised fears about the spread of the hazardous plant , as it thrives in warmer temperatures.

Distressing images show what can happen to children if they accidentally come into contact with the dangerous invasive species. Several youngsters were hospitalised in late June around the UK.

WARNING: Some images below graphically show Giant Hogweed injuries.

Areas with lots of countryside, such as our beautiful county, should be particularly aware of the risks.

Giant Hogweed verified in Somerset

Now a new app called Plant Tracker is recording confirmed reports of Giant Hogweed on a map of the UK, allowing those concerned to steer clear of some potentially risky areas.

Worryingly there are several dots on the map showing Giant Hogweed is in Somerset and the surrounding area.

The Giant Hogweed spots in or near Somerset confirmed so far are in:

Mudford (just north of Yeovil ) An area to the south of Wincanton , near the River Cale Farleigh Hungerford (north of Frome , south of Bath) London Road West in Bath Riverside Park in Bristol Down Road, north of Bristol Bristol and Bath Science Park, Bristol Just off the A35, near Wilmington, between Axminster and Honiton

Children taken to hospital

In late June media reports highlighted how children in the UK were especially vulnerable to the dangers of the plant.

Several children were hospitalised with third-degree burns after their skin was exposed to a stem.

Lauren Fuller, 10, from Thornbury, was building a den by a riverbank in Scotland in 2015 when she touched the invasive plant.

The image belows show how her injuries quickly became extremely severe.

WARNING: The below image graphically shows Giant Hogweed injuries and some may find it distressing.

An 11-year-old boy in Renfrewshire, Scotland, was hospitalised after touching the toxic plant in the park. Victims suffer horrific burn-like injuries when they make contact with it.

The boy was left with agonising blisters after he rubbed the plants leaves on a nettle sting, thinking they were dock leaves.

In 2015, four Bolton teenagers were treated in hospital for severe burns after touching giant hogweed.

Within 24-48 hours, rashes, burns and blisters may begin to appear. The toxins affect almost everyone but children are particularly sensitive.

Blisters caused by Giant Hogweed tend to heal very slowly as they can damage DNA, and severe blistering may re-occur for many years.

The blisters can also develop into phytophotodermatitis, a type of skin rash caused as a result of sensitivity to chemicals in certain plants and fruit which flares up in sunlight.

The best advice is simply - do not touch it.

River Trust expert Mike Duddy said: "If you dont know what the plant is, its exceedingly dangerous.

It is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most dangerous plant in Britain."

Government advice on Giant Hogweed says:

Contact with any part of this plant must be avoided as even minute amounts of sap can cause blistering of the skin following exposure to sunlight.

Its best left to the experts but if youre trying to spot the dangerous plant so you can avoid it, this info could help.

The Non-Native Species Secretariat says: When in full height it is difficult to confuse giant hogweed with any other plant. While still growing or stunted, possibly as a result of disturbance, it can be confused with some other native plants. The most likely species with which it might confused is hogweed.

Key differences between hogweed and giant hogweed include the height, width of stem, size of leaf, size of flower head and size of seed.

The map of the Somerset area we used above came from PlantTracker.

Thanks to PlantTracker we can see recorded sightings of the Giant Hogweed but walkers should beware that it's in lots of other places, too. It's probably impossible to report them all.

The PlantTracker project is a collaboration between the Environment Agency, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency & Natural Resources Wales.

The main aim is to locate incidences of a number of high priority invasive plant species.

There is currently a lack of information on exactly how serious the problem presented by invasive plant species really is.

With the public's help PlantTracker hope to build the most complete picture yet and provide the raw data to those that need it most in (almost) real time.

Continued here:
Sightings of 'most dangerous plant' which can cause ulcers and ... - Somerset Live

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