Barely a week goes by at this time of year without a news article featuring a person, often a child, who has unfortunately been injured by the invasive non-native plant Giant Hogweed. Awareness of the risks posed by the plant among the general public tends to be low, so here are the facts you need to know.

What does Giant Hogweed look like?

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has this week published new draft guidance for the assessment of Japanese knotweed on UK properties, which is now under consultation. This means surveyors and other property professionals will have the opportunity to comment and potentially amend the guidance ahead of its final publication later this year.

So, what are the main changes?

Have you ever wondered if you live in a Japanese knotweed hotspot? Each year, we mine data from Exposed, our online Japanese knotweed heat map which is populated with over 53,000 known infestations, to identify the worst-affected locations.