Asthma alert over toxic caterpillars

A PLAGUE of toxic caterpillars that could trigger asthma attacks, as well as vomiting and skin rashes, has broken out, the Forestry Commission has warned. Officials have told gardeners and people enjoying the countryside to stay away from the oak processionary moth caterpillars after the insects were spotted in London and the South East. Allergic reactions can be caused by protein in the creatures’ hair follicles for up to five years after being shed.

An operation to eradicate the larvae is now under way at 600 sites.

The species is believed to have arrived in Britain in 2005 via Dutch trees imported for a housing development in Kew, south-west London.

A Forestry Commission spokesman said: “We need to contain the pests’ numbers.”

The oak processionary moth caterpillar has been recorded in parts of Greater London, from Brent to Kingston upon Thames, as well as in outlying areas such as Guildford, Slough and Bracknell Forest