Plea for volunteers to remove pennywort from river

The Whoosh Explore Canoe Club said it was a "race against time" to remove the pennywort ahead of nesting season

A canoe club is looking for volunteers to help weed the River Lea ahead of the bird nesting season.

Whoosh Explore Canoe Club, based in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire said it was now a race against time to remove floating pennywort which it has described as "a persistent plant invader".

The club said it had spent five years hand weeding the River Stort but it now needed to concentrate its efforts on the River Lea.

The river runs from Luton and through Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

The club said pennywort damages the river's natural ecosystem by depriving it of light and it also caused issues for fishermen, boaters and other water sports enthusiasts.

The club would like to hear from volunteers with boats and equipment to help clear the waterways before coots and moorhens nest amongst the weed.

The Canal & River Trust said pennywort, which grows into floating mats, is a highly invasive plant which swamps waterways.

It said it was difficult and expensive to remove and was becoming more and more of a problem across the country.