Many readers have contacted the Ross Gazette concerned about the presence of Japanese knotweed on the banks of the River Wye.

Japanese knotweed is not a native plant and was introduced to this country as an ornamental garden plant in the mid-nineteenth century. Non-native plants invade natural habitats and out-compete the native plants and animals that normally live there.

Rivers, hedges, roadsides and railways form important corridors for native plants and animals to migrate, and large infestations of non-native weeds can block these routes for wildlife.