A conservation project in County Tyrone says it is making progress in tackling giant hogweed, an invasive plant described as the UK's most dangerous due to a sap that causes painful blistering and scarring on contact with skin. The Ballinderry Rivers Trust has been treating a source of the plant near Cookstown, focusing on areas around Drum Manor Forest Park, though the plant has spread miles further down the Ballinderry River, making full control a significant challenge.

The plant, which can grow up to five metres tall, has been recorded at more than 2,500 sites across Northern Ireland, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency is pursuing over 500 enforcement cases against landowners. Stormont has set a target to halve the plant's distribution by 2030. The trust has traced its spread from two tributaries near Drum Manor down to Lough Neagh, while an angler with over 60 years' experience on the river described being covered in painful blisters after accidental contact as a child, and a long-distance runner recounted suffering welts after exposure to the plant in Scotland.