ROAD chiefs will be out in force across East Lancashire this week in a bid to rid the area of a deadly weed.

Special 'weedbusting' patrols from the Highways Agency will be inspecting the region's motorway and trunk road network as part of their annual battle to clear the streets of the potentially fatal ragwort.

The killer weed is poisonous to horses and other animals who may eat it and this week marks the British Horse Society's 'Root Out Ragwort' week.

The teams are trained to keep the weed at bay by digging it out by hand, including its roots, then burning it or burying it at controlled tips.

Highways Agency project manager Graeme Freeman said: "Every ragwort plant not destroyed can produce 150,000 seeds and 70 per cent of them will germinate.

"As landowners we are legally obliged to clear this weed.

"But we must balance this with the duty of care that we owe to all those living alongside our roads.

"That's why we avoid chemical sprays and instead attack the weeds by hand, an expensive and time-consuming exercise but vital if we are to keep this deadly plant under control while protecting the environment.