FOREIGN plants and animals are choking our rivers, canals and towpaths, says British Waterways.
And BW, which manages Britain’s navigable rivers and canals including the Huddersfield Broad and Narrow canals, has named 12 of the worst culprits.
Many of the non-native species originate in garden ponds.
They include red-eared terrapins set free after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle craze of the early 1990s and zander fishes.
Yorkshire’s offenders include mink released from fur farms and signal crayfish.
Other animal marauders include Chinese mitten crabs and zebra mussels, Plants include Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam, Australian swamp stonecrop, water fern, giant hogweed and floating pennywort.
BW says the invasion can be halted by buying native species, responsibly disposing of non-native plants and cleaning boating and angling gear with warm soapy water before moving to another body of water.
For more details visit www.waterscape.com
