PLANTS are being ripped out of multiple Benfleet flower beds after Castle Point Council found it infested with an invasive weed.

The council took to Twitter to announce that two rose beds at the junction of Cheltenham Drive and Sandown Road have a Mare’s Tail infestation.

Also known as Horsetail, it is a very invasive, deep-rooted perennial weed that spreads quickly to produce dense areas of growth, which needs to be dealt with as soon as it is discovered.

Castle Point Council’s tweet said: “We have found that the two rose beds at the junction of Cheltenham Drive and Sandown Road have a Mare’s Tail infestation.

“We will be treating the infestation but to do this, we will have to completely remove all plants from the beds, meaning there is a potential to lose the roses that are currently within the beds.

“We will be replanting the beds once the works have finished – estimated to be around September.”

Mare’s Tail have bright green, fir-tree-like stems which appear through the soil typically in the spring or the early summer season.

They can grow up to two feet high.

Weedkiller can weaken Mare’s Tail, but as it is persistent, several applications may need to be applied – possibly over several years – to get rid of the problem.

The infestation usually dies down to its roots in the late autumn and winter.

For more information about Mare’s Tail, please click here.