George Parsonage, 80, had a brush with the dreaded giant hogweed while working on Glasgow’s waterways back in the 1960s (Picture: George Parsonage/Pen News)
A pensioner who was scorched by the UK’s ‘most dangerous plant’ more than 50 years ago says the old wound still torments him to this day.
George Parsonage, 80, had a brush with the dreaded giant hogweed while working on Glasgow’s waterways back in the 1960s.
Despite the initial sore being relatively small, it remained sensitive to sunlight for decades afterwards until he was given a spray to treat it.
It was then that ‘all hell broke loose’, he says, with the old wound flaring up again and leaving an open sore on his arm.
George said: ‘The giant hogweed burn wasn’t that bad with me, it was what came after it.
‘It just looked like a pinkie nail on my arm – a tiny, tiny wee mark that you would get after a burn. It never bothered me at all. It used to be slightly affected by sunlight, but it was no bigger than a centimetre square.
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
‘They sent me a spray and it started to go away, but then all hell broke loose. And I was told to stop the spray immediately.’
George’s grisly wound (Picturet: Pen News/George Parsonage)
Giant hogweed sap stops the skin protecting itself against the sun, leading to gruesome burns when exposed to daylight.
And because it often causes no immediate pain, victims can continue to burn in the sun heedless of any problem.
What’s more, the plant can spread its sap with only a moment’s exposure.
The short-term injuries can be painful enough, but for some the affected area can remain sensitive to sunlight in the long term.
The plant’s seeds are often dispersed by water, so it’s usually found blooming along rivers and streams.
George was right in the firing line.
George Parsonage says his half century-old sore is still tormenting him (Picture: Pen News/George Parsonage)
He said: ‘I worked on the rivers all the time. I was very, very careful.
‘It was a really bad reaction. It went from being the size of a pinkie nail, to what you see now – it’s quite large now.
‘There is no doubt it’s getting worse, but to get anything done with it would mean me going into a hospital, getting a skin graft and things.
‘At my age, and state of health, it is not worth it.’
Now George, a retired lifeboat officer, is speaking out to warn others about the scourge of giant hogweed. His advice was twofold.
He said: ‘One, you must stay clear of it – absolutely clear of it. And the second thing is: it is your duty to report it, because in my opinion you have a responsibility.
‘I would blame you if you did not report it and some children who walk along the same path as you get burned with it.
‘It’s a dangerous plant and the council should get rid of it, but they can only get rid of it if people report it.’
More Trending
He continued: ‘There are an awful lot of people, an awful lot worse than me. I just use myself as an example.
‘I have seen plant workers with horrendous burns on their stomachs and stuff. There was one a few years ago, and I have seldom seen such horrendous burns as was on this boy.’
George added: ‘I stay well, well away from it.’
The giant hogweed is native to the Caucasus, but was introduced to Britain as an ornamental plant in 1817, and its spread has now got out of control.
It was called ‘without a shadow of a doubt, the most dangerous plant in Britain’ by Mike Duddy, of the Mersey Basin Rivers Trust in 2015.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.