Joy Gwynne-Evans and her husband Richard thought that their new garden, which has a small stream flowing through it, was idyllic after moving to the island in January.
But within weeks of moving in they discovered that the garden is rife with fast-growing Japanese knotweed, poisonous hemlock, thistle and other weeds.
The couple have now employed specialist gardeners to help them deal with the weeds, some of which can cause structural problems with properties if they are not controlled, and have been warned it could take a decade to clear the vegetation.
‘Just today the guys have removed over 1,000 big weeds and they just keep spreading and growing,’ said Mrs Gwynne-Evans.
‘When we agreed to buy the house we were not aware of this problem. It was not formally disclosed to us and we did not notice it until three weeks after we moved in.
‘It is terrible because it devalues the house, which is a shame.’
Mr Gwynne-Evans said that one of their gardeners broke the news about the full extent of the weed problem shortly after seeing the garden.
‘He has told us that it might take up to ten years to get rid of it all, and here were us thinking we were going to have a peaceful retirement.’
His wife added: ‘These weeds, especially the hemlock and knotweed, are nasty.
‘Aside from the issues we are having, I want other islanders to know what to look for – especially with the hemlock, as it can look like celery.’
Nick Gibson, director of Revive Garden Services, said that the amount of poisonous weed in the island was growing.
‘They spread so easily and if you don’t extract them properly they will keep growing,’ he added.
WITH a bumpy arrival in Guernsey on its second commercial crossing, numerous technical issues and the odd delay in loading its cars, it has been an eventful time for the Condor Liberation fast ferry.
But it seems that there may be some strange goings-on in the skies above the vessel as well as on deck.
One passenger captured several pictures and a video of what appears to be a UFO as she travelled between Guernsey and the UK.
Caroline Eborall says she unwittingly took the photos and film while playing with her phone on the afternoon of 29 April.
And it was only when she showed the footage to her son that she realised she may have captured something rather odd.
She said she had always felt it was ‘hard to know’ whether aliens existed, and had been left shocked by the photographs and footage.
‘I was quite amazed – you would be. You don’t know what is out there – none of us do.
‘To have so many UFO shapes in different pictures and videos is very strange,’ said the 56-year-old.
Mrs Eborall, who said she had also heard the story of an airline pilot who spotted an unusual object in the sky near Alderney many years ago, now wants to hear from anyone else on board the vessel who may have seen the ‘UFO’.
A GUERNSEY father has been fined after ‘egging on’ his daughter during a pre-arranged out-of-school fight.
The police became aware of the brawl when a video – showing the 50-year-old defendant giving encouragement to his daughter – was posted on Facebook. Other children were also gathered around and cheering on the girls.
Guernsey Magistrate’s Court heard that the man was at his ‘wits’ end’ because his daughter was being bullied and that he had previously tried to resolve the situation through the proper channels. Some of the bullying incidents had also been reported to the police.
Advocate Catherine Fooks, defending, said that her client had done all he could to stop the bullying and felt he had little other choice but to attend when he knew the fight was going to happen.
‘He was pretty desperate at this stage. He knew the fight was happening – there was nothing he could do to stop it. He thought it was better, if the fight was going to happen, that it took place in his presence,’ she said.
The man, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of his daughter, pleaded guilty to aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the assault and was fined £600. Judge Philip Robey said that the defendant had ‘put both children at risk by egging them on’.
Rape claim woman jailed
A WOMAN has been jailed for nine months after falsely claiming she had been raped. Stacie-Leigh Honey (23), of St Andrew’s, Guernsey, made up the claim because she thought the man had used her for sex. Her victim, who was arrested, always claimed that the sex was consensual and he was released after spending several hours in custody. He was never charged. Honey, who has a previous conviction for the same offence, pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice. Judge Russell Finch, who was sitting in Guernsey’s Magistrate’s Court, said: ‘People convicted of rape go down for five, six or seven years, so you can imagine what must have been going through his mind.’
Unlawful sex with girl (14)
