HIGHWAYS bosses are to spend £150,000 clearing East Lancashire's motorway and road network of the dangerous weed Ragwort.

Although the plant looks like a pretty yellow flower it can cause irreversible liver damage to horses, cows and sheep, resulting in death.

It is classed as a dangerous weed under the Weeds Act of 1959, and under the Environmental Act 1990, plants must be disposed of safely to a licensed landfill site.

The Highways Agency estimates that by the end of the month 5,000 man hours will have been spent ridding the county of the killer weed.

Fifty tonnes of Ragwort -- which equates to the weight of 75 standard size cars -- are expected to up-rooted in that time.

Highways Agency assistant maintenance manager Liz Girvan said: "This time of year is critical when it comes to getting rid of ragwort.

"We have to pull them out of the ground by hand once they flower to stop the seeds spreading.

"The Agency takes the threat these plants can cause to animals very seriously and we will do our utmost to destroy it.

"We also want to encourage adjoining land owners to do the same to try and prevent its return."

Cutting in early stages reduces seed production, although the only way to totally rid an area of the weed is to uproot it.

However the agency is only choosing selected sites to uproot as it is an essential food source for the caterpillar of the Cinnabar Moth.

The black and yellow caterpillars live in groups that hatch from one batch of eggs and strip the host plant of its leaves, before moving on to the next plant.

If there are no further plants they will die but if they survive and pupate they emerge as black and red moths.

As a health and safety precaution, the team of pickers have to wear thick gloves so their skin does not come into contact with the plant.