Volunteers wade through river to battle weeds

Two volunteers pulled up hundreds of Himalayan balsam plants as part of an "ongoing battle" to protect woodland.

Melissa Duff and Peter Ellis waded up the river which runs through Holywell Dene in Northumberland to pull up the invasive plant growing along the banks.

Both volunteer for the Friends of Holywell Dene, which formed in 2000 in an attempt to restore the woodland on the Delaval Estate.

Duff said it was "dangerous work" walking along the riverbed to access the parts of the riverbank which have been infested with balsam.

"We clear Himalayan balsam to help our native ecosystem and keep the paths open for everyone," she said.

"Even though it is beautiful wading along it is really dangerous because you can't see where you are walking."

Both volunteers had to watch out for holes in the riverbed as well as trying to avoid sinking into the silt near the riverbank.

Himalayan balsam is one of the most widespread and common invasive plants that are not native to the United Kingdom.

The flower on the plant has highly pressurised pods which can propel up to 800 seeds metres away when ripe and touched.

It often colonises the banks of rivers, streams and ditches, according to the RHS, and does little to stabilise the soil along banks, leading to habitat alteration and degradation.

Ellis, a volunteer with the group for 14 years, said the group went out to tackle the balsam every year.

"It is easily pulled because it only has shallow roots," he said.

"It is an ongoing battle we are waging, we get in the river every year and pull out as many as we can."

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