AS a young boy I was part of a group of young lads who created our own little fantasy kingdom on a small island on the River Deveron. We built forts and tree houses and even, stupidly, dug tunnels to defend our imaginary realm. One particularly hot summer’s day we decided to clear an overgrown area with hand sickles. Stripped to the waist and wearing only shorts and sandals, we set to hacking down these huge plants which were several feet taller than ourselves. Stems and sap flew everywhere!

Thus did I discover the dangers of giant hogweed. By the time I went home for my tea I was covered in blisters and feeling rather sorry for myself. My mother, a practical woman, smothered me in calamine lotion but not much sympathy.

Every year I get complaints from constituents about giant hogweed, particularly in Linn Park and along the course of the White Cart. To be fair, when reported to the council, action has been taken and herbicides deployed to control the growth in areas which are both owned by the council and safely accessible. This year the level of complaints and expressions of concern has grown enormously. From speaking to colleagues, this is not just in my patch but across the city. Whether this is down to particularly favourable growing conditions this year or the lack of capacity within the council to keep on top of the problem, I do not know. I have a strong suspicion that it may be a mixture of both.

Over the last few days alone I have received numerous messages and photographs from constituents highlighting growth from Cathkin Braes all the way down to Cathcart railway station. The banks of the Cart behind the modern flood defences from Snuff Mill Bridge down through Langside appear to be particularly problematic.

Victorian gardeners have a lot to answer for. Invasive foreign species with no natural or native means of control are a longstanding and perhaps interactable problem. Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam, for example, are also a blight across the city. Only giant hogweed, however, can cause severe burns and pose such a threat to children and pets.

Eradicating hogweed entirely is almost certainly impossible. Indeed, common hogweed also grows widely across the area and poses no real danger. A more effective and consistent programme of control and suppression is surely not beyond our capabilities or resources.

Any coordinated action to reduce this pernicious plant would have to include private landowners and neighbouring local authorities. There would be little point in clearing the banks of the White Cart as it flows through Glasgow only for it to be reseeded the following season by growth further up the watercourse in Renfrew.

Earlier this week I contacted NRS asking if a more coordinated approach was possible and what enforcement powers we have as the local authority to require private landowners to deal with invasive species on their property.

We also perhaps need to create greater awareness of what giant hogweed is and the dangers it poses.

Had I known all those years ago that I would land up covered in painful blisters I would have stayed well clear. To be fair, one of my mates was even more stupid, he used one of the stems as a peashooter. Ouch!