Flatworms cause £23m of damage

New Zealand flatworms, which prey on worms and snails and hit soil fertility, cost Scotland £23 million in 2017, according to new figures.

The data, collected by Wildlife and Countryside Link, has also revealed that, across the UK, damaging non-native plants and animals such as Japanese knotweed and grey squirrels cost the UK economy more than £2 billion last year. Camilla Morrison-bell, of Wildlife and Countryside Link, has warned that the number of invasive species is “set to grow”.