War on ragwort

STAFF from South East Water pulled together to help protect a rare and endangered species of flower present near Polegate, writes Lisa Merry.

The hairy mallow is so special that its exact location in the area must remain a secret. Twenty head office South East Water staff decided to leave their desks for the day and volunteered to clear one of the supplier's sites of the dreaded killer wild plant ragwort, which had begun to grow in the same location.

Ragwort is an obnoxious weed that if left unmanaged could smother hairy mallow and, if eaten, is potentially deadly to horses and cattle.

Staff had to put their pulling power to the test as the weed can only be fully eradicated by carefully pulling out the entire plant at the root. The water supplier carried out this sensitive work under the guidance of English Nature and Plantlife.

Protected

Hairy mallow is on the list of globally threatened/declining species and is fully protected under the Wildlife and Country Act, 1981. It is thought to be native to South East Water's site in East Sussex.

Managing director of South East Water, Margaret Devlin, also helped with the clearing.

She said: 'It is imperative to ensure that our site continues to thrive with protected and beautiful species such as the hairy mallow.

'Ragwort needs to be removed before it seeds and spreads further.

'We are fortunate to have groups of volunteers who regularly help us with conservation work on many of our sites.

'Once the ragwort has been removed it will be burnt at a suitable location.

'Weedkiller can be used to destroy ragwort but as a company we have a strong policy of non pesticide use and prefer to use more natural methods.'