EU Funds promised to tackle giant hogweed

The West Bohemian spa town of Mariánské Lázně has been pledged 17 million crowns from European Unions funds to counter the spread of Giant Hogweed. The massive and fast spreading plant is a major problem round the town. The funds will be used to help pay for chemical and physical removal as part of a pilot project over the next four years. The project will focus on a stretch of countryside along the Kosí and Hutský streams. The area occupied by the invasive plant has increased fivefold along the Kosí river over the last 15 years according to regional experts.