Mum’s plant burns warning
A MUM has issued a warning after her son received these horrific third degree burns from HOGWEED – dubbed Britain’s most dangerous plant.
Jayden Bird, nine, rubbed his leg against the toxic weed which is thriving thanks to lockdown.
He was playing with his siblings while on a camping holiday with his family when he ran past a patch of hogweed near some trees on the campsite.
Within minutes his right leg was covered in red marks – and sixteen hours later they erupted into pussfilled blisters leaving him in agony.
Doctors said the third-degree burns will leave scars which could last a number of years, and little Jayden said he doesn’t want to wear shorts outside anymore.
The recent hot weather has created ideal conditions for hogweed to grow across Britain – with lockdown making it increasingly difficult to keep under control.
The vicious weed’s harmful sap can have devastating effects if it comes into contact with human skin, causing painful burns and blisters, and life-changing scars.
Jayden’s mum Carly, 31, wants to warn other parents to keep an eye out for the plant which looked “quite attractive” to the untrained eye.
The careworker from Warwickshire said: “The poor boy, the blisters are so big and look so sore, I am just so glad that none of my other children were hurt from this horrid plant, Jayden has suffered enough”.
“It doesn’t look like a nasty plant – it looks quite attractive.
“It’s not a surprise that kids would naturally go up to it without knowing it’s the UK’s most poisonous plant. “He’s lucky it didn’t go on his face as if it had gone in his eye he would have gone blind.” Jayden and his family were camping at Bosworth Water Trust in Market Bosworth, when he was stung on August 16. He was playing with other children near trees and brushed the ter”. plant for a few seconds while he ran past. It was immediately itchy and sore, but hour by hour the rash grew larger, until huge blisters appeared. Not realising it was hogweed, they drove home, before taking
Jayden to the George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton. Medics said it was a third degree burn from hogweed and ages. covered the burns in bandThey gave him antibiotics, painkillers and cream. Football fan Jayden is now worried about wearing shorts during PE and doesn’t want to go camping again.
According to the NHS website hogweed looks like “innocuous cow parsley with white flowers clustered in an umbrella-shaped head that is up to 80cm in diame-ter”.
Dubbed ‘Britain’s most dangerous plant’ hogweed can grow up to five metres tall. A mild winter, sunny days and lots of rain has created ideal conditions for the plant, and specialists have been less able to tackle it due to lockdown. Bosworth Water Trust campsite has been approached for comment.