VOLUNTEERS teamed up with Grozone Community Garden to root out a colonising plant on the banks of the River Dane.

The Vale Royal Conservation Volunteers (VRCV) worked with Grozone's Pete Atwood to tackle Himalayan balsam weeds on Thursday, July 11.

Distinguishable by its shallow roots, hollow tubular stem and pink flowers, 'Impatiens Glandulifera' was introduced to the UK in 1839 by Victorian plant hunters, as a greenhouse and warm garden plant.

Due to its explosive seed pods shooting some 800 seeds up to 22ft away, it quickly escaped and today colonises riverbanks and waste ground across the country.

The troublesome weed can grow to more than six feet in height, and causes problems by crowding out other plants until just balsam remains. It needs to be removed to give native species a fighting chance.

While Pete advised that it would be impossible to completely eradicate Himalayan balsam from the River Dane, past experience proves it can be brought down to manageable levels by tackling it in the early summer each year.

Although they were rained on a couple of times, the hardy bunch of workers from VRCV were not perturbed by a bit of water and amassed a considerable mound of balsam.

VRCV meet every Thursday to work on a variety of conservation projects.

New members are always welcome. See vrcv.org.uk or email infovrcv@gmail.com – no prior experience required.