How one homeowner's decision to plant japanese knotweed in their garden caused the creeping menace to spread through neighbouring counties to form one of Britain's biggest hot spots

A small village in Wales became a hot spot for Japanese knotweed after a gardener bought some for an ornamental plant.

The invasive species is the scourge of gardeners and homeowners due to it being able to spread rapidly and in large quantities even damaging foundations of peoples homes.

It has now been revealed the plants first arrived in Wales after the species was introduced by a local gardener in the former industrial village of Caerau.

The revelation was made during a committee meeting of Bridgend Council which said the village, with a population of 6,600, has become a hot spot for the plant.

The non-native species cost around £1.7 billion across the United Kingdom each year as the plants are incredibly hard to control.

Bridgend Council has now approved plans to prevent invasive plants and wildlife from damaging roads, buildings, and ecosystems in the area and appointed a designated officer.

The new Invasive Non-Native Policy outlines how a mix of chemical and mechanical treatments will continue to be used to deal with the plants.

It also looks at treatments for invasive wildlife such as signal crayfish, which can erode and collapse riverbanks, and zebra mussels, which can block and damage pipes.

The approved plan will now be implemented by a newly-appointed invasive species officer - which will allow the council take a more proactive approach to the highest areas of risk.

Officers at the meeting also noted the cost to treat high risk areas of Japanese knotweed is estimated to be around £110,000 per year.

But council leader John Spanswick said decisions on this would be subject to future budget growth bids and discussions on the treatment of weeds across the whole area.

Corporate Director Janine Nightingale said: 'We do know from some advice that we have taken that one of the hotspots in the UK is in Caerau.'

She added that 'the species was an ornamental plant bought and planted in the garden some time ago and introduced into Wales in that way.'

Its underground roots grow stronger and faster than the above-ground plant visible to gardeners, and the knotweed has 'colonised' across Bridgend County Borough

Knotweed was believed to have been first introduced to the UK in 1850 by Philip von Siebold who took it to London's Kew Gardens where it became a popular plant the public could buy.

But it soon made its way across the UK and has taken over rail lines, parks, and riverbanks as councils and gardeners battle to control it.

A council spokesperson said: 'With an Invasive Species officer in post to oversee the implementation of the policy, the council intends to work closely with neighbouring local authorities to control and prevent the spread of invasive species across southern Wales.

'Under the policy, a list of invasive species which present a risk to the environment or to local levels of biodiversity will be established and maintained, and each will receive an individual action plan outlining how the council intends to deal with it.

'With preferred control methods continuing to include a mix of chemical and mechanical treatments, a new procedure will be introduced for managing fresh reports of invasive species, and enforcement action will be taken when they encroach onto council-managed land through fly-tipping or neglect.'

Cllr Paul Davies, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and the Environment, said the enforcement action plan is an 'excellent start.'

He said: 'This policy has been developed after a report by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs highlighted how invasive species were causing billions of pounds worth of damage across the UK, killing off native species and exposing local authorities to the risk of legal action.

'While we do not believe that every type of invasive species covered by this policy is currently present within the county borough, it makes sense to plan ahead now for all possibilities.

'The overall goal is to eradicate all invasive non-native species in the county borough. While achieving that is going to require a great deal of co-ordination and partnership working, having the Invasive Non-Native Policy in place is an excellent start.'