A DAD whose daughter’s skin “completely melted” is warning other parents about a deadly weed invading Britain.
Lauren Fuller, ten, was on a fishing trip with her father when she picked a piece of a Giant Hogweed for a den she was building.
Within 24 hours, the schoolgirl had developed third-degree burns and enormous blisters on her hands and cheeks — but doctors told dad Russell it was just sunburn.
Unsatisfied with the diagnosis, Russell and Lauren’s mum Charlotte researched their daughter’s symptoms online and quickly realised she was a victim of giant hogweed.
Exposure to the plant makes skin extremely sensitive to sunlight and can cause rashes, burns, severe blistering and even blindness. Children are most at risk.
Little Lauren first touched the hogweed at the end of last month near Loch Lomond, Scotland. By the following day she was in excruciating pain.
Russell, 32, a builder from Bristol, said: “She was absolutely fine on the Sunday. She thought nothing of it. On the Monday her hands were red raw and by the Tuesday she had big blisters. It was really, really bad.
“They put these little gloves on her to cover the blisters and when they took them off a couple of hours later her skin had completely melted.
“Lauren is a tough little cookie but she was crying a lot. She was in a lot of pain and she was really worried about what was going to happen to her hands.”
She is still taking painkillers and relies on a heavy-duty cream to stop her blisters and burns from getting worse. Some of her skin has been removed and she faces the possibility of having a skin graft.
Lauren’s parents say there should be clear signs indicating where giant hogweed is growing and they hope to alert other parents to the threat.
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A top plant expert warned the spread of giant hogweed is uncontrollable and more people will get hurt.
Guy Barter, chief horticultural adviser at the Royal Horticultural Society, also warned it can take FIVE years to eradicate one plant.
Giant hogweed has now spread to every corner of the UK except Cornwall, he added.
It is mainly found on fertile damp ground near rivers, canals and waterways but can be found in parks and in wasteland.
Guy told The Sun: “It’s spreading and by and large is uncontrolled. It can cause very serious damage to humans.”
Russell said: “I want other people to know that this plant is out there and to be aware of how dangerous it is.
“What happened to Lauren was terrifying and I would honestly really hate for any other parent to go through what Charlotte and I have gone through.
“We had no idea what was going on and the hospital didn’t either.
“We had to use Google to diagnose Lauren’s symptoms ourselves and the specialist said she hadn’t seen anything like it for 20 years.
“I was so incredibly worried about what was going to happen.
Giant hogweed was originally brought to Britain from Central Asia in 1893 and now commonly grows on riverbanks and wasteland.
After touching the plant, within 24-48 hours rashes, burns and blisters may begin to appear. The toxins affect almost everyone but children are particularly sensitive.
If the plant’s sap is rubbed into the eyes, it can cause temporary or permanent blindness.