ONE of my favourite strolls is along the River Ribble between Chatburn and West Bradford.

When I walked the footpath last week I was alarmed to see that parts of the riverbed was being choked by vegetation, with the dominant species being the Himalayan balsam.

This plant was introduced by Victorian gardeners and in the last century or so it has spread so quickly that it smothers our riversides.

The plant restricts the water channels and this can lead to flooding. If global warming increases then we will get more rain and more plant growth. Obviously this will lead to more flooding with associated damage to bridges, roads, factories and houses.

In the last few months we have had many flood warnings, far too much damage and in the near future we will all have to pay a lot more for our house insurance.

Our wildlife has also suffered and along this stretch of the Ribble there used to be a very large colony of house martins. It would seem that this colony has been decimated by high water levels.

There was one exciting view and that was of a female goosander and with her were two young. This is proof that this duck breeds in the area. The nest is sited in a hollow tree and soon after hatching the mother calls to the ducklings. They respond by parachuting down to join the female and they all sail off together.

My sighting seemed to indicate that the female was teaching her offspring to dive in search of fish.

I love this stretch of the river but something must be done to keep these alien plants from strangling the flow of the water.