JAPANESE knotwood has invaded Britain – now blighting areas from London to Lancashire.
A handy heatmap has been created to keep track of the spots where the destructive plant has bedded in and caused havoc for house prices and gardening nuts.
Hotspots are marked from yellow through to red depending of the severity of infestation.
London, Merseyside and Lancashire, Bristol, a belt between Newport and Swansea, another from Nottingham up to Sheffield, around Fort William and Ventnor on the Isle of Wright are the worst affected.
And in Cardiff, there are 414 reported infestations within a 4km area of the city centre.
The plant can grow four inches a day in summer, and its roots or rhizomes spread far underground causing structural damage to buildings.
If it is found growing within 23 feet of a property it poses a risk, so mortgages are often refused unless there is a plan in place to eradicate it.
But even if the seller carries out the expensive work, the stigma associated with the plant means that property values can be a tenth less, even after action is taken to control it.
Now home buyers can check whether an area is blighted by the weed on the Exposed: The Japanese Knotweed Heatmap website.
It allows people to search by postcode to discover the number of reported sightings nearby or to report any new sightings.
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The tool was created by Nic Seal of Environet UK who said: “This heatmap will enable us to build a nationwide picture of the Japanese knotweed problem and give the general public the information they need to assess the risk locally, particularly when buying a property.
“It will also be a useful tool for homeowners who want to be aware of infestations near their property which could spread, putting their home at risk.
“The site is already well populated, but this is an ongoing project. The more people who report sightings, the more effective it will become.”
The Victorians introduced Japanese knotweed as an ornamental plant but now grows rampantly along railways, waterways, in parks and gardens and is notoriously difficult to treat.
The Environment Agency brands it as “indisputably the UK’s most aggressive, destructive and invasive plant.”
It can be spotted by red or purple asparagus-like shoots that appear from the ground and grow rapidly, forming hard canes from April or May.
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As the canes grow, heart-shaped leaves gradually unfurl and turn green.
It blooms in late summer, when it becomes covered in tiny creamy-white flowers.
During the late autumn, the leaves fall and the canes turn brown and die, although they remain standing.
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News Photo Japanese knotweed invades Britain as plant hits areas from London to Lancashire
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