IT'S out of control and it could cost taxpayers in Torfaen up to £50,000. The menace of Japanese knotweed has taken such a hold in the area that council officials say it is out of control.
The vigorous, fast-growing plant causes serious ecological and structural damage, spreads quickly and is difficult to control.
In Torfaen the problem has become so widespread that the council was today holding a special meeting to decide how to tackle it.
The current council budget for dealing with the weed is £5,000, to be increased to £25,000 this year, but Torfaen council officers are asking for it to be increased to at least £50,000 or they will not be able to control the weed.
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