MY family and I have just spent a great month holidaying in Bournemouth and Poole, so much so that we are now returning after 32 years away from Bournemouth. Something that struck us which the locals seemed to take for granted is the encroachment of the stinging nettle plant that seems to be burgeoning everywhere in the UK.

I really don't remember the sheer quantity of nettles which abound now in the area, particularly in Upton Country Park. From Swanage to Christchurch, there are literally fields full of these plants.

Surely, we are not the only people to have noticed this invasion?

TONY BROWN, Western Australia