A NEW campaign has been launched to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive plants into towns and the countryside.

All Choked Up! Prevent Pond Pests is a campaign by the Water for Wildlife project and involves the introduction of an awareness-raising postcard aimed at informing both the public and aquatic suppliers of the dangers these aquatic invasive plants pose and encouraging people not to stock, buy or spread them.

Problem plant species include Australian swamp stonecrop (crassula helmsii), water fern (azolla filculoides), floating pennywort (hydroctyle ranunculoides), parrot's feather (myriophyllum aquaticum), curly water weed (lagarosiphon major) and water primrose (ludwigian grandiflora syn. jussiaea).

Chris Rostron, the Wildlife Trust's Water for Wildlife manager, said: "We need to stop the spread of these invasive plants into the wetland environment to protect our native wildlife. This campaign is about encouraging people not to stock, buy or spread them.

"Invasive plants can be present as fragments in other aquatic plants bought from garden centres and aquarium specialists."

He added: "We need to tackle this problem at source, because once in river systems, these species are near impossible to eradicate."

The campaign postcard gives detailed advice along with identification pictures. It can be downloaded free with an information sheet and campaign poster direct from www.wildlifetruts.org or by sending an A5 S.A.E. to any local Wildlife Trust addressed to the Prevent Pond Pests campaign.