A farmer claims to have purchased the UK’s ‘deadliest’ field after discovering it covered in a plant so poisonous that even a tiny amount can be fatal for humans.
The Facebook page Field to Farm shared a video of the pasture which was blanketed with Hemlock.
Hemlock is a poisonous plant with umbrella-like clusters of white flowers in summer, which produces a repellent smell when its leaves are crushed.
It can be fatal even in small amounts, affecting the body’s nervous system, eventually causing death by respiratory failure.
Posting the clip as a warning to followers about the dangers posed by the plant, he said: ‘I have bought a field to live in and I’ve realised it is full of poison.
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‘Commonly mistaken for wild carrot, this is hemlock, and, just eating any single part of this plant is enough to kill me.
‘And on this part of my land it is absolutely everywhere.
‘The amount of this you have to eat to die is realistically quite small. Four or five leaves, done. Game over. A couple of hours later, you’re having seizures and you are dying.
‘If you are going to mow this stuff down, you are mostly ok, but don’t get the sap on your skin because it is going to blister your skin in a similar fashion to giant hogweed.
‘You can maybe make out this one is absolutely covered in aphids and it is already going to seed.
‘It provides a lot of flowers and sap and stuff for the invertebrates around the farm, but bit of a poison and if you get the sap on you, it is not the best, bit of an irritation, potentially blisters.
‘So, all in all, if you’ve got this stuff growing, be careful.’
Symptoms of hemlock poisoning include dilated pupils, dizziness, trembling, decreased heartbeat, paralysis of the central nervous system, and muscle paralysis.
Death can follow from respiratory failure.
Hemlock plants are so poisonous that dead canes remain toxic for up to three years.
Those takes with removing them have to wear gloves and take frequent breaks.
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